A leading data scientist who has been granted over 200 patents becomes the first Israeli named to an illustrious list of inventors that includes Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell.
While Assaf Natanzon’s doctoral thesis is still a work in progress at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, his career as a leading expert in data protection has already taken off. Indeed, Natanzon was recently named to a list of the world’s most prolific inventors based on the number of patents he has registered.
As the first Israeli to be named to this list, Natanzon joins other pioneers in the world of science such as George Westinghouse (steam engines, electric power), in addition to household names such as Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell.
Natanzon’s “passion for data protection” has guided his work at Dell EMC, where he serves as Vice President of Advanced Technology and Investment Evaluation. The Israeli inventor described his work as developing “protection for virtual machines and cloud-based applications,” in addition to “enabling data protection for software-as-a-service (SaaS).” In layman’s terms, Netanzon’s work involves safeguarding the bevy of content that is now stored on third-party sites.
Patents, of which Netanzon has racked up a whopping 202 through his work in startup nation, are a form of legal protection extended for a set period of time to inventions that demonstrate a sufficient level of “novelty” in comparison to previous inventions, and permit the inventor to profit from goods manufactured based on the concepts described in the patent. In many cases, including most of Natanzon’s patents, the patent is granted to the inventor’s employer, such as a technology firm, a pharmaceutical company, or a university.
While Netanzon enjoys swimming laps when he is not busy delving into new ways to protect data on the internet, the rising star has set his sights on amassing 1,000 patents, a feat that would send him to the upper echelons of an already elite group of inventors.
By: Ezra Stone, United with Israel