Victor Zavala selected as National Academy of Inventors senior member

Victor Zavala, the Baldovin-DaPra Professor in chemical and biological engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been named a senior member by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Zavala is one 230 inventors from 82 NAI member institutions around the world selected to the 2026 class of senior members.

NAI senior members are active faculty, scientists, and administrators with success in patents, licensing, and commercialization and have produced technologies that have brought or aspire to bring real impact on the welfare of society. They are rising stars who foster a spirit of innovation within their communities and institutions while educating and mentoring the next generation of inventors. Senior members are nominated by NAI member institutions to recognize their outstanding innovators and foster a culture of innovation and invention on their campuses.

Zavala’s work focuses on computational mathematics, including the development of theory, algorithms, and software to tackle problems that arise in diverse scientific and industrial applications. He and his students develop new techniques and tools to model systems and facilitate the analysis and solution of complex optimization problems.

His work has applications in far-ranging fields including data science and machine learning, sustainability, energy systems, process control and more. He and his students have undertaken dozens of projects, including analyzing manure and nutrient control in agriculture, optimizing space biomanufacturing and even analyzing undergraduate education. 

“This year’s Senior Member Class is a truly impressive cohort. These innovators come from a variety of fields and disciplines, translating their technologies into tangible impact,” says Paul R. Sanberg, NAI president. “I commend them on their incredible pursuits and I’m honored to welcome them to the Academy.”

Zavala and other new NAI senior members will be honored during a ceremony at NAI’s 15th Annual Conference taking place June 1-4th, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.