The National Inventors Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2026, honoring 15 inventors whose ideas have shaped everyday life, from Wi-Fi and shapewear to life-saving medical devices and industrial technologies used around the world.
Among this year’s inductees is Cleveland chemist Donald Alstadt, inventor of Chemlok, a revolutionary rubber-to-metal adhesive system now used in nearly every vehicle worldwide.
Alstadt’s innovation solved a long-standing manufacturing challenge by creating a reliable way to bond rubber to metal, improving safety and durability across countless products. Today, Chemlok and Chemlok-derived technologies are widely used in the automotive, aerospace, defense, agriculture, and energy industries, making Alstadt one of the most influential, though often unseen, inventors of modern transportation. He is being inducted posthumously.
The Class of 2026
Other inductees represent major breakthroughs across medicine, technology, agriculture, and consumer products:
Louis Argenta and Michael Morykwas: Co-inventors of Vacuum Assisted Closure (V.A.C.), a wound-care system that uses controlled suction to speed healing and has helped millions of patients worldwide.
Sara Blakely: Founder of Spanx, who transformed shapewear after inventing footless control-top pantyhose and growing a $5,000 startup into a billion-dollar company.
Gebisa Ejeta: A plant geneticist whose drought- and disease-resistant sorghum hybrids have improved food security for millions of people, particularly in Africa.
Teresa Meng: A pioneer of CMOS Wi-Fi technology, whose work made wireless internet faster, cheaper, and more energy-efficient, accelerating global adoption.
Henry Samueli: Co-founder of Broadcom, whose innovations advanced broadband communications and high-speed data delivery worldwide.
Feng Zhang: A leader in CRISPR gene-editing technology, first demonstrating genome editing in human cells and opening new paths for treating genetic disease.
Olive Dennis (posthumous): A railroad engineer whose innovations dramatically improved passenger comfort and safety in early rail travel.
Frank S. Greene Jr. (posthumous): A Silicon Valley pioneer who developed high-speed semiconductor memory systems and championed STEM mentorship.
Maurus Logan (posthumous): Inventor of Ty-Rap® cable ties, now a billion-dollar fastening solution used across industries worldwide.
George Maison, Irving Porush, and Charles Thiel (posthumous): Inventors of the metered-dose inhaler, introduced in 1956 and still saving lives today.
Reuben Trane (posthumous): Founder of Trane, whose innovations shaped modern heating and cooling systems.
The Celebration
The inductees will be honored in May during “The Greatest Celebration of American Innovation”, held in Washington, D.C., in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Events include an Illumination Ceremony and a black-tie induction gala.
For northeast Ohio, Alstadt’s induction serves as a reminder that some of the world’s most important innovations were created quietly, and went on to shape everyday life on a global scale.
