[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11956]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  FLORIDA INVENTORS HALL OF FAME 2017

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GUS M. BILIRAKIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 26, 2017

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the eight inventors 
who have been recognized as the 2017 Inductees of the Florida Inventors 
Hall of Fame. In order to be named as an Inductee, these inventors were 
nominated by their peers nationwide and have undergone the scrutiny of 
the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame Selection Committee. As a result, 
their innovations have been identified as significantly impacting the 
quality of life, economic development, and welfare of their 
communities, the citizens of Florida, and the United States.
  The Florida Inventors Hall of Fame was founded in 2013 by Paul R. 
Sanberg, Senior Vice President for Research, Innovation and Knowledge 
Enterprise, and Judy Genshaft, President, at the University of South 
Florida. It was recognized by the Florida Senate with Senate Resolution 
1756, adopted on April 30, 2014. Its mission is to encourage 
individuals of all backgrounds to strive toward the betterment of 
Florida and society through continuous, groundbreaking innovation by 
celebrating the incredible scientific work that has been or is being 
accomplished in Florida and by its citizens.
  Nomination to the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame is open to all 
Florida inventors (living or dead) who are or have been residents of 
Florida. The nominee must be a named inventor on a patent issued by the 
United States Patent and Trademark Office. The impact of the inventor 
and his or her invention should be significant to society as a whole, 
and the invention should have been commercialized, utilized, or led to 
important innovations.
  The 2017 Inductees of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame are:
  Issa Batarseh, director of the Florida Power Electronics Center at 
the University of Central Florida in Orlando, for inventing low cost, 
high efficiency micro-inverters for photovoltaic (PV) applications that 
led to the creation of the first compact single solar PV panel;
  Michael J. DeLuca, electrical engineer and intellectual property 
counsel for NextEra Energy, Florida Power & Light, in Juno Beach, for 
his groundbreaking technology known today as ``voltage scaling,'' which 
significantly increased the battery life of portable communication 
devices;
  Kenneth M. Ford, co-founder and CEO of the Florida Institute for 
Human and Machine Cognition, in Pensacola and Ocala, for his pioneering 
work in artificial intelligence and human-centered computing, and for 
his significant contributions to the United States and Florida's 
technology and research communities;
  Phillip Frost, physician, inventor, and current CEO of OPKO Health in 
Miami, who invented a revolutionary disposable punch biopsy tool, as 
well as various therapeutic methods for treating psoriasis, heart and 
respiratory diseases;
  Richard D. Gitlin, State of Florida 21st Century World Class Scholar 
and Distinguished University Professor at the University of South 
Florida in Tampa, for development of the original digital subscriber 
line (DSL) and his subsequent inventive research and development in 
digital communications, broadband networking, and wireless systems that 
transformed communication technology;
  Thomas H. Maren, (1918-1999), physician, Graduate Research Professor 
at the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville, and charter member of 
the UF College of Medicine faculty, who made underlying discoveries 
that resulted in the invention and commercialization of 
Trusopt', the first topical treatment for glaucoma; and
  T. Dwayne McCay and Mary Helen McCay. Dwayne McCay, President of the 
Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, and Mary Helen 
McCay, whose novel approaches in the area of metallurgical engineering, 
specific to laser-induced surface improvement (LISI), have greatly 
contributed to increased patient safety and improved medical outcomes 
in facilities nationwide.
  Innovation and invention are the building blocks of our nation. I 
applaud these highly accomplished individuals and the organizations 
that support them in their quest to change the world in ways that truly 
benefit humanity. Furthermore, it is because of the perseverance of 
these inventors that future generations are encouraged to reach beyond 
their limits and push the boundaries of innovation.

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