Judith and Arthur Obermayer of Chilmark and Newton were inducted into the Small Business Innovation Research Hall of Fame in a ceremony June 15 in the Indian Treaty Room at the White House.

Mr. and Mrs. Obermayer were the sole inductees into the hall of fame this year. They were selected for the honor by the Small Business Administration because of their role in securing the initial funding for the Small Business Innovation Research Program, according to a press release.

Mr. Obermayer worked with Senator Edward Kennedy beginning in 1970 to secure the initial funding for Small Business Innovation Research Program at the National Science Foundation and to secure passage of the Small Business Innovation Research Act, which encourages small businesses to explore their potential. The Obermayers worked to make the program government-wide, and promoted a companion piece of legislation, the Bayh-Dole Patent Act. The act gives title for inventions that result from government-funded research to small businesses and universities.

Mr. Obermayer founded Moleculon Research Corp., a chemical and pharmaceutical research company, in Cambridge in 1960. Mrs. Obermayer is a principal at Moleculon and has had a major role in making the Small Business Innovative Research program government-wide and helping small high-tech companies reach their potential.