Who are the judges?
We use industry professionals with years of experience in the business. We prefer to protect the judges’ anonymity as well as the writers. This protects the judges and competitors of any reprisals and accusations of misappropriating the outcome of the competition. We feel this creates a fair judging system.
The first round judges are scientists, researchers, and other experts in the fields of mathematics, engineering, biology, chemistry, physics, materials science, computer science, medicine, pharmacology, nanotechnology, and other disciplines related to invention and technology development. The judges, all volunteers, include representatives from the National Science Foundation, various research institutions, associations, and private industry. Entries are assigned to judges based on the particular field or category of the invention. The final round of judges consist of inductees to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, that is, inventors who have made monumental changes to the world and to their fields, and special guest judges selected by the presenting sponsors, the USPTO and the Abbott Fund. The special guest judges are experts in their respective fields.
