Twenty-two innovation pioneers were named as the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) 2020 class of inductees.

In partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), NIHF will honor these Inductees in Washington, D.C., May 6 to 7 at one of the innovation industry’s most highly anticipated events: “The Greatest Celebration of American Innovation.”

The maritime-related 2020 inductees are:

Dana Bookbinder, Ming-Jun Li and Pushkar Tandon for inventing the bend-insensitive ClearCurve optical fiber. Because it can bend without significant signal loss, ClearCurve optical fiber has reached locations previously inaccessible to optical fiber and advanced data transmission across an array of industries.

James Abercrombie and Harry Cameron (posthumous) for inventing the world’s first reliable blowout preventer (BOP) to successfully contain catastrophic blowouts from oil and natural gas wells. This mechanism allowed operators to close wells, control pressure during drilling operations, protect the environment and save lives.​​​​​​​

Learn more at www.invent.org/induction.