National Academy of Inventors names two UC Irvine faculty members as fellows

• UC Irvine researchers are part of a 185-member class of NAI fellows for 2025.
• Honorees to be formally inducted into the NAI at their national conference in Los Angeles in June 2026.

Irvine, Calif., Dec. 11, 2025 — The National Academy of Inventors has chosen two University of California, Irvine researchers to its class of 2025 fellows. Biomedical engineer Tibor Juhasz and computer scientist Marios Papaefthymiou are among 185 new NAI fellows elected this year.

“We are proud to have Tibor Juhasz and Marios Papaefthymiou named National Academy of Inventors fellows,” said Hal Stern, UC Irvine provost and executive vice chancellor. “Both have translated pioneering research into real-world solutions. Professor Juhasz is recognized for developing laser technologies that improve eye health for millions, and Dean Papaefthymiou is being honored for innovations in energy-efficient computing architectures that have been integrated into high-performance commercial chips.”

Juhasz holds joint appointments in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the Samueli School of Engineering and the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences in the School of Medicine. Before coming to UC Irvine, he was a researcher in the W.K. Kellogg Eye Center and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan where he began his work centered on femtosecond laser applications in ophthalmology. His efforts contributed to the development of the LASIK procedure and, more recently, a laser treatment for glaucoma, an eye disorder that affects nearly 80 million people worldwide. These efforts, which received funding from the National Institutes of Health and UC Irvine’s Beall Applied Innovation, led to the launch of Irvine-based ViaLase.

“I am proud and humbled to have been chosen to be a fellow by the National Academy of Inventors,” Juhasz said. “Most exciting to me is having worked on an ophthalmological technology that improves lives by allowing people to preserve their ability to see. The infrastructure at UC Irvine and Beall Applied Innovation has been instrumental in sharing these innovations with the general public.”

Juhasz holds 46 U.S. and international patents and was named UC Irvine’s Entrepreneurial Leader of the Year in 2022, the same year he received the Golden Goose Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an honor given to researchers whose federally funded work has had unexpected, transformative societal impact. He earned his bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. in physics from the JATE University of Szeged, Hungary.

Papaefthymiou is a professor of computer science and the Ted and Janice Smith Family Foundation Dean of the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences. Before joining UC Irvine in 2017, he was a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan, where he served as chair of computer science and engineering, and at Yale University.

An expert on architectures and design methodologies for energy-efficient computers, Papaefthymiou holds 21 U.S. and international patents. His work on power-saving high-speed clocking was commercialized by Cyclos Semiconductor, a startup he co-founded, and has been integrated into millions of commercial computer chips from leading semiconductor vendors.

“I thank the National Academy of Inventors for naming me a fellow,” said Papaefthymiou. “Having my work recognized by such an esteemed organization is both humbling and gratifying. I am also grateful to UC Irvine for enabling us in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences to imagine, create and perfect technologies that contribute so profoundly to society.”

Papaefthymiou is a fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and his accolades include young investigator awards from the National Science Foundation and the Army Research Office, faculty partnership awards from IBM, multiple best paper awards, and teaching awards from Michigan and Yale.

Papaefthymiou was raised in Athens, Greece, and studied at the National Technical University of Athens before transferring to Caltech, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1988. He then went on to earn master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT in 1990 and 1993, respectively.

NAI Fellowship is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors. Together, the 2025 class holds more than 5,300 U.S. patents and includes recipients of the Nobel Prize, the National Medals of Science and Technology & Innovation, and members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, among others. This year’s 169 U.S. Fellows represent 127 universities, government agencies, and research institutions across 40 U.S. states. Sixteen of the new Fellows are international.

Spanning every major field of discovery, including quantum computing, artificial intelligence and regenerative medicine, NAI Fellows are tackling the biggest and most pressing issues of our time. Their success in translating research into products and services that improve lives demonstrates the continuing importance of the U.S. patent system.

The NAI Fellows program was founded in 2012 and has grown to include 2,253 distinguished researchers and innovators, who hold over 86,000 U.S. patents and 20,000 licensed technologies. Their innovations have generated an estimated $3.8 trillion in revenue and 1.4 million jobs.

“NAI Fellows are a driving force within the innovation ecosystem, and their contributions across scientific disciplines are shaping the future of our world,” said Paul R. Sanberg, president of the National Academy of Inventors. “We are thrilled to welcome this year’s class of Fellows to the Academy. They are truly an impressive cohort, and we look forward to honoring them at our 15th Annual Conference in Los Angeles next year.”

The 2025 NAI class of fellows will be honored and presented their medals by a senior official of the United States Patent and Trademark Office at the NAI 15th Annual Conference on June 4, 2026.

UC Irvine now has 23 National Academy of Inventors fellows and more than 650 active U.S. patents.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UC Irvine, visit www.uci.edu.

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus studio with a Comrex IP audio codec to interview UC Irvine faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UC Irvine news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at https://news.uci.edu/media-resources.