CHIPS Articles: SSC Pacific to host first DoD, DON Chapter of National Academy of Inventors

Due to the efforts of SPAWAR Chief Technology Officer Dr. Stephen Russell, fellow of NAI, the SSC Pacific chapter is the first chapter within the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy, and has been established to recognize the contributions of inventors across all disciplines at the Center.

The chapter's inaugural meeting will be held Oct. 27 and will feature keynote speaker Dr. Eric Fossum, professor of engineering at Dartmouth College and inventor of the CMOS (“camera-on-a-chip”) pixel image sensor used in almost all cell-phone cameras, web cams, digital cameras, and in medical imaging.

The SSC Pacific chapter’s goal is to help foster innovation across the lab, advocate for protecting government intellectual property, and assist in successfully transitioning innovative technologies for national defense and commercial applications. Additionally, the chapter will assist in educating the Center’s workforce on the importance and value of patents, and on the patent disclosure and patent licensing processes.

The 33 founding members hold almost 350 U.S. utility patents, six U.S. design patents, and 11 foreign patents, and average more than 10 patents per inventor.

Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific provides the U.S. Navy and military with essential capabilities in the areas of command and control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR). SSC Pacific provides the full spectrum of C4ISR capabilities from basic research and prototype development, to extensive test and evaluation services, through systems engineering and integration, to installation and life-cycle support of fielded systems. SSC Pacific is a recognized leader in the cyber domain and for autonomous unmanned systems, and is providing the technological and engineering support critical to ensuring the Navy’s information warfare superiority.