Georgetown Named to Top 100 Patenting US Universities List by the National Academy of Inventors

Georgetown University has again been named among the Top 100 US Universities Granted Utility Patents, the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) announced today (March 19, 2026). Released annually, the ranking celebrates US academic institutions that play a significant role in advancing innovation by securing intellectual property through patents.

“These universities and their inventive faculty are at the forefront of driving national innovation and competitiveness,” said Paul R. Sanberg, president of the NAI. “By moving their ideas to market and protecting their IP with patents, these institutions are ensuring that the U.S. not only remains competitive on the global stage, but directly shapes the future of innovation.”

The recognition comes as Georgetown inventors continue to secure patents for technologies addressing complex, real-world challenges across disciplines.

Georgetown’s Office of Technology Commercialization also plans to recognize inventors with US patents – issued in the past fiscal year rather than the NAI’s calendar year – at the 2026 Georgetown University Research and Innovation Showcase on April 22.

Some of the inventors who will be recognized at the showcase also happen to be past NAI honorees. Ophir Frieder, a professor of computer science, is an NAI fellow and a 2023 inductee of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame.

Frieder was named on five patents during the 2025 fiscal year for technologies optimizing AI-driven conversational search, document retrieval, 3D image recognition, drug efficacy prediction, and real-time nuclear reactor operations.

Fifteen Georgetown inventors have been elected as fellows and senior members of the academy since 2013.

About the NAI Rankings

The NAI has published its Top 100 Worldwide Universities list since 2013, adding the Top 100 U.S. Universities list in 2023 to provide a focused view of the national innovation landscape. Collectively, the universities on the 2025 Top 100 U.S. list secured over 6,700 patents during the 2025 calendar year.

The rankings are based on calendar year data provided by the US Patent and Trademark Office and aim to provide a comprehensive view of intellectual property protection in the innovation ecosystem.