Dr. Ekundayo Shittu, Professor of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, has been selected as a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Class of 2026. This prestigious national honor recognizes academic inventors whose work demonstrates significant real‑world impact, a strong record of innovation, and a clear trajectory of future contributions to their fields.
NAI Senior Members are chosen for their success in patents, licensing, commercialization, and entrepreneurial activity—key indicators of how research moves beyond the university and into society. Dr. Shittu’s portfolio reflects this mission. His research spans systems engineering, resilience, energy systems, and decision science, with a focus on developing tools and frameworks that help communities and organizations better prepare for and respond to complex challenges.
Throughout his career, Dr. Shittu has advanced solutions that support more sustainable and resilient systems, bridging rigorous scholarship with practical application. His work has influenced decision‑making in critical sectors and contributed to technologies and methodologies that address some of today’s most pressing societal needs.
His notable achievements include winning GW's first $100,000 SBIR Matching Fund Grant. He also won a Technology Commercialization Award and a STTR grant in collaboration with his former graduate student, Connor Roberts, who founded Opal HTM to commercialize their invention.
By joining the NAI Senior Member class of 2026, Dr. Shittu becomes part of a distinguished community of inventors who are shaping the future of technology, discovery, and innovation. GW celebrates this well‑deserved recognition and the continued excellence he brings to the university’s research ecosystem.