The National Academy of Inventors has elected Iowa State University agronomy professor Patrick Schnable as one of its 2025 fellows. Schnable has founded five startups in his 37 years as an Iowa State faculty member and holds 17 U.S. utility patents and two plant variety protections. Schnable joins a class of 185 new fellows in the NAI, the highest professional distinction awarded exclusively to inventors. “NAI fellows are a driving force within the innovation ecosystem, and their contributions across scientific disciplines are shaping the future of our world,” NAI President Paul Sanberg said in a prepared statement. Schnable credited his various collaborators, which includes engineers, computer scientists and statisticians. “I didn’t create any of these companies by myself. Each one was a group effort, and I learned a lot from my colleagues each time,” he said in a prepared statement. Schnable continues to run Dryland Genetics, a startup founded with his son and fellow plant scientist, James Schnable. They are developing higher-yielding varieties of proso millet, a grain crop that can be used in many of the same ways as corn but requires less than half of the water per bushel of production. Schnable will be recognized at the NAI’s annual conference in Los Angeles in June. Innovations by NAI fellows, including 11 other Iowa State faculty, have generated an estimated $3.8 trillion in revenue and 1.4 million jobs.
