Pegasus Professor of Electrical Engineering Issa Batarseh has been invited to join the Invention Ambassadors Program sponsored by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and the U.S. Patent Trademark Office. This prestigious program is open to fellows and honorary members of NAI as well as innovators at NAI member institutions. The goal is to showcase accomplished inventors across a wide range of fields with the intention of building a culture of inclusive innovation and inspiring young creators.

“I am deeply honored to serve as an Invention Ambassador for the National Academy of Inventors on behalf of UCF,” Batarseh says. “I strongly believe that innovation holds the power to solve major challenges and become globally competitive, and I am excited to share my experiences and insights with the next generation of innovators. By promoting a culture of inclusive innovation, we can inspire young minds to not only envision the future but actively build it. It is a privilege to serve my community.”

Batarseh is one of 17 ambassadors who are deployed to speak at a variety of engagements for students, STEM professionals and educators, and other stakeholders within private organizations. The group includes professionals and academics from organizations such as the University of Georgia, the Mayo Clinic and Georgetown University.

The electrical and computer engineering professor joined UCF in 1991 and has served in several prominent positions within the College of Engineering and Computer Science since then. He served as the associate dean for graduate affairs and the director of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science before the unit split into two separate departments.

Batarseh established the Florida Power Electronics Center at UCF in 1998 with an initial grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation. To date, the center has garnered more than $20 million in funding and has received several awards from national and international organizations.

His research in power electronics focuses on the development of advanced solar energy conversion systems that can save time and money and improve power density and performance. He’s been granted 39 patents for his work and has been cited more than 17,900 times, with an h-index (a scholarly measure of productivity) of 64. He’s supervised 45 doctoral students and also founded two startup companies engaged in solar energy conversion: Advanced Power Electronics Corporation and Petra Systems.

Batarseh was named an NAI Fellow in 2016 and was inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame in 2017. He’s also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.