DURHAM, N.H. - Kevin Short, professor of mathematics at the University of New Hampshire, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Election to NAI Fellow status is a high professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.

Short's research in nonlinear dynamics and signal processing led to the discovery of cupolets (chaotic unstable periodic orbit-lets), which allow extremely complicated systems to be replicated using very little information. This work catalyzed innovations in audio and video compression, audio restoration, speech recognition, improved hearing aids and data encryption and storage. Short is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Entrepreneurial Venture Creation Person of the Year award, the UNH Innovator of the Year award and is one of only four professors at UNH to the hold the distinction of University Professor. He holds nine U.S. patents and associated international patents in Canada, Europe, Japan and Hong Kong that have been licensed to four companies, along with several that are pending. Short is the founder of Chaoticom (later named Groove Mobile), Kaonyx Labs and Setem Technologies.

"Short's extensive body of work, coupled with his potential to develop future innovations, demonstrate his profound impact on quality of life, economic development, societal welfare and innovative discovery," said Jan Nisbet, senior vice provost for research at UNH. "Kevin embraces the spirit of discovery and invention, and I am delighted that he is being recognized for his pioneering work."

Included among the 414 NAI Fellows are 61 presidents and senior leadership of research universities and non-profit research institutes, 208 members of the other National Academies (NAS, NAE, IOM), 21 inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, 16 recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation, 10 recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Science, 21 Nobel Laureates, 11 Lemelson-MIT prize recipients, 112 AAAS Fellows, and 62 IEEE Fellows, among other awards and distinctions. 

The NAI Fellows will be inducted on Mar. 20, 2015, as part of the 4th Annual Conference of the National Academy of Inventors at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
The academic inventors and innovators elected to the rank of NAI Fellow are named inventors on U.S. patents and were nominated by their peers for outstanding contributions to innovation in areas such as patents and licensing, innovative discovery and technology, significant impact on society, and support and enhancement of innovation.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,300 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

The National Academy of Inventors® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit member organization comprised of U.S. and international universities, and governmental and non-profit research institutions, with over 3,000 individual inventor members and Fellows spanning more than 200 institutions, and growing rapidly. It was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society. The NAI edits the multidisciplinary journal, Technology and Innovation, published by Cognizant Communication Corporation (NY). www.academyofinventors.org 

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