The founder and principal investigator for the Texas Tech Hurricane Research Team (TTUHRT) becomes the 14th faculty member to be named a Fellow.
John Schroeder, a professor in the Department of Geosciences within the College of Arts & Sciences at Texas Tech University, has been named to the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Class of 2025 Fellows, the NAI announced today (Dec. 11).
The 2025 class will be honored at the NAI’s 15th Annual Conference in June in Los Angeles.
Schroeder, who founded the Texas Tech University Hurricane Research Team (TTUHRT) in 1998 and led the research and commercialization effort related to using dual-Doppler radar approaches to measure wind farm flow fields, becomes the 14th faculty member from Texas Tech to earn the prestigious honor. Texas Tech has had at least one faculty member named an NAI Fellow in each of the past 10 years.
“It’s been quite a journey throughout my career,” Schroeder said. “I’ve been open to exploring new ideas as my career has evolved, and I’ve been fortunate to partner with a talented research team in the National Wind Institute. Without their participation in different projects and the institute’s support, I would never have been able to achieve the same level of success. I’m thankful for the opportunity provided by Texas Tech.”
As the senior director of the National Wind Institute (NWI) at Texas Tech and leader of several strategic initiatives, Schroeder has played a key role in the university becoming one of the top institutions in the U.S. in terms of studying the effects of wind storms, wind engineering and wind energy. He is considered one of the world’s most well-regarded experts on hurricane winds at landfall.
Since his arrival at Texas Tech, he designed the Wind Engineering Mobile Instrumented Tower Experiment (WEMITE) #1, a ruggedized instrument tower that researchers first deployed in 1998 to measure hurricane winds. WEMITE #2 followed the next year. These towers collected wind speed and direction data at multiple levels, as well as temperature, barometric pressure and relative humidity.
Since then, Schroeder has been instrumental in the development of portable mesonet towers (PMTs) that were used until the NWI developed the current StickNet method of data collection in 2006. StickNet platforms enable a more comprehensive collection of wind datasets from the landfall region and are rapidly deployable. They were first used in 2008.
Schroeder has also been heavily involved in the development of new radar systems to measure the details of low-level wind fields. These detailed wind fields are important not just to meteorologists, but also to engineers. Schroeder’s team has pioneered the use of radar to solve engineering-relevant problems, resulting in numerous patents and a commercialization effort that has impacted the wind energy industry worldwide.
“John is one of the rare innovators who can say his inventions have impacted millions of lives,” said Joseph Heppert, vice president for Research & Innovation. “His research is critical to how we understand and prepare for atmospheric hazards, and I am proud to see his exceptional leadership and work be recognized with this prestigious honor.”
Composed of 169 researchers representing 127 research universities and governmental and non-profit research institutions from around the world, the 2025 class of NAI Fellows holds more than 5,300 U.S. patents on innovations making significant tangible societal and economic impacts.
“NAI Fellows are a driving force within the innovation ecosystem, and their contributions across scientific disciplines are shaping the future of our world,” said Paul R. Sanberg, president of the NAI. “We are thrilled to welcome this year’s class of Fellows to the Academy. They are truly an impressive cohort, and we look forward to honoring them at our 15th Annual Conference in Los Angeles next year.”
About the NAI Fellows Program
Since its founding in 2012, the NAI Fellows program has grown to include 2,253 exceptional researchers and innovators who hold more than 86,000 U.S. patents and 20,000 licensed technologies. NAI Fellows are recognized for the significant societal and economic impact of their inventions, which have contributed to major advancements in science and consumer technologies. Their innovations have generated over $3.8 trillion in revenue and created 1.4 million jobs.