Distinguished Professor Zoya Popovic is among 162 inventors named 2023 fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Election as a fellow in the academy is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors. Popovic, a leading researcher in high-efficiency, low-noise microwave and RF engineering, was elected for her “prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, and welfare of society.” One of her recent patents measures internal body temperature through a thermometer that is non-invasive and wearable. Other patents Popovic has developed harness ambient radio frequencies to charge batteries or power vehicles wirelessly. Popovic, Distinguished Professor and Lockheed Martin Endowed Chair in RF Engineering, is a recipient of the 2001 Hewlett-Packard and American Society for Engineering Education Terman Medal for combined teaching and research excellence. She was the first woman to receive the International Radio Science Union (URSI) Issac Koga Gold Medal and also a member of the National Academy of Engineering. The NAI Fellow program has 1,898 fellow worldwide representing more than 300 universities and governmental and nonprofit research institutes.
