ECE Alum Sanjoy Paul (Ph.D. ’92) Named Fellow of NAI

ECE Alum Sanjoy Paul (Ph.D. ’92) Named Fellow of NAI

ECE Alum Sanjoy Paul (Ph.D. ’92) has been inducted as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) in recognition of his “exceptional achievements as an inventor and significant impact on the innovation ecosystem, economic development, and society.”

With over 140 patents, domestic and international, in biometrics, security, wireless/mobile networking, IoT and smart energy, Dr. Paul has delivered major advances in media, cybersecurity, and grid intelligence. Through a combination of leadership and entrepreneurship, he has successfully translated his research into multiple large-scale platforms that are used worldwide.

His work in Content Distribution Networks (CDN) has had a remarkable impact on multiple industries and billions of users, contributing to current streaming multimedia platforms such as YouTube and Zoom. Also included are advancements in biometric security patents that have significantly improved face and iris recognition in smartphones, financial systems and border security. The economic value of his innovations exceeds $750 million and has contributed to technological advances across energy, health, media and cybersecurity sectors.

Dr. Paul is the Executive Director of Rice Nexus at Rice University, where he oversees state-of-the art facilities that allow students and faculty to develop, test, and launch new ventures. He is also the co-founder of non-profit organization Houston AI, which provides a space for innovative ideas in AI knowledge and collaboration.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in electronics and electrical communications from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur (IIT), Paul received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from ECE in 1992. He is also the recipient of an MBA degree from the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania.

Paul is a highly recognized innovator in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Computer Networking, Internet of Things (IoT) and Extended Reality (XR). His research focuses on the unification of AI/ML, IoT, and XR techniques in building scalable and deployable intelligent systems that can be applied to industries such as manufacturing, energy, healthcare, and technology.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE). In 2024, he was recognized in Marquis’ Who’s Who for expertise in engineering and higher education, particularly for his work on enhancing streaming video quality on the Internet, for which he secured a highly influential multimedia patent in 2014. He is a current member of the ECE Advisory Board.

IIT Kharagpur awarded Paul a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2015. Other recognitions include a Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award from the R&D Council of New Jersey, the William R. Bennett Award from IEEE Communications Society for the best original paper in IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, Infosys Excellence Award for Innovations and Thought Leadership, and MIT Technology Review’s Grand Challenges for India Award.

Fellow of the NAI is the highest professional recognition awarded to inventors who have had a major impact on innovation and discovery through patented innovations that have shown profound economic and social impacts around the world.  

January 5, 2026