Inclusive sportswear designer joins academy of inventors

Susan Sokolowski, a University of Oregon professor and director of the Sports activities Merchandise Style Application, has been elected to the 2021 class of fellows of the National Academy of Inventors.

Sokolowski is the 1st Oregon female to be named a fellow of the academy. The honor recognizes her contributions to the structure of products for special populations, like women, youngsters, people today of extended sizes, growing old populations and disabled athletes.

She is also the very first recipient of funding from the recently launched Wu Tsai Human Effectiveness Alliance, a world exertion to boost wellness and peak performance by means of scientific discovery and innovation, a investigate alliance that consists of the UO as one of 6 founding institutions.

“It is a excellent honor to be inducted into the Countrywide Academy of Inventors,” Sokolowski mentioned. “As a female inventor who specializes in products design for underserved people, it signifies a lot to be acknowledged by the academy.”

Sokolowski joined the Sports activities Products Structure Program at the UO in 2015 after a 17-12 months vocation at Nike studying and establishing resources and patterns for efficiency sporting items. A designer internationally identified for her achievements, Sokolowski holds 44 U.S. utility and design and style patents and 62 global patents.

Her analysis assignments at the UO strengthen efficiency attire by means of the use of anthropometrics, a willpower of human things engineering that describes the body shape and dimension of diverse populations, like adult males, girls, and young children of particular ages and ethnicities.

“My function appears to be like at aiding underserved customers force their restrictions in general performance, through the research and goods I develop,” she said. “I am notably very pleased of the operate that I have completed for female athletes, firefighters, armed forces staff and wellbeing treatment staff, along with growing old and adaptive consumers.”

Sokolowski joins a course of 164 academy fellows, who characterize 116 research universities and governmental and nonprofit exploration institutes around the globe. They collectively maintain a lot more than 4,800 U.S. patents.

At the UO, other school customers elected to the academy in the earlier numerous yrs include things like Robert Guldberg, vice president and Robert and Leona DeArmond Government Director of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact as a fellow, and Shawn Lockery, a professor of biology and Keat Ghee Ong, a professor of biochemistry at the Knight Campus as senior customers of the academy.

The National Academy of Inventors was founded in 2010 to figure out and really encourage inventors with U.S. patents, increase the visibility of educational engineering and innovation, really encourage the disclosure of intellectual home, educate and mentor revolutionary students, and translate the innovations of its associates to reward society.

“Through her ground breaking and envelope-pushing get the job done, Susan proves that the will need for superior-overall performance sportswear is not confined to elite athletes,” claimed Cass Moseley, interim vice president for exploration and innovation at UO. “Susan’s inclusive patterns meet up with the complex and qualified requirements of all people, no matter of age or means level.”

—By Kelley Christensen, Place of work of the Vice President for Investigation and Innovation