Zhi-Pei Liang, a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Grainger College of Engineering, was elected fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Liang is being honored for his “highly 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,” according to the academy. Election to NAI Fellow status is the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors.