February 20, 2009

National Academy of Engineering Elects 31 Sigma Xi Members

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC - The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected 31 Sigma Xi members among 65 new members and nine foreign associates. This brings the total U.S. NAE membership to 2,246 and the number of foreign associates to 197.

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature," and to the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."

A list of newly elected Sigma Xi NAE members and foreign associates follows, with their primary affiliations at the time of election and a brief statement of their principal engineering accomplishments.

New Members

Paul M. Anderson (SX 1962), consultant, Power Math Associates, San Diego. For contributions that have advanced the analysis and control of electric power systems worldwide.

Diran Apelian (SX 1972), Howmet Professor of Mechanical Engineering and director, Metal Processing Institute, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Mass. For contributions to solidification processing and for outstanding leadership in engineering education and university-industry collaboration.

David C. Auth (SX 1969), consultant, Kirkland, Wash. For the invention and application of minimally invasive devices for the treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding and coronary artery obstructions.

Jay P. Boris (SX 1967), chief scientist and director, Laboratory for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. For fundamental contributions in core computational fluid dynamics algorithms and their application to national problems.

Frank "Skip" L. Bowman (SX 1973), former chief of naval personnel and former director, Nuclear Propulsion Program, U.S. Department of the Navy, North Potomac, Md. For leadership in the design of nuclear-reactor propulsion plants to support the power requirements of evolving combat systems.

Moustafa T. Chahine (SX 1960), senior research associate, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. For leadership in determining the structure and composition of the Earth's atmosphere from space observations.

Jean-Lou A. Chameau (SX 1982), president, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. For national and international leadership and contributions in engineering education, geotechnical engineering, and public policy.

Yet-Ming Chiang (SX 1980), Kyocera Professor, department of materials science and engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. For contributions to understanding of new energy storage materials and their commercialization.

Jack B. Dennis (SX 1954), professor emeritus, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. For contributions to sharing and protection in computer systems and parallel architectures based on data flow principles.

S. M. Farouq-Ali (SX 1965), president, Petroleum Engineering Research Laboratories Canada Ltd., Edmonton, Alberta. For pioneering techniques for enhanced oil and gas recovery.

Gerard J. Foschini (SX 1965), distinguished inventor, Alcatel-Lucent, Bell Labs, Holmdel, N.J. For contributions to the science and technology of wireless communications with multiple antennas for transmission and receiving.

Donald P. Gaver (SX 1992), distinguished professor of operations research, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif. For contributions to reliability, maintainability, and queuing concepts, with applications to telecommunications and military systems.

Ahsan Kareem (SX 1976), Robert M. Moran Professor, department of civil engineering and geological sciences, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind. For contributions to analyses and designs to account for wind effects on tall buildings, long-span bridges, and other structures.

Christopher B. Lofgren (SX 1987), president and chief executive officer, Schneider National Inc., Green Bay, Wis. For development and implementation of supply-chain engineering concepts, software and technology for truck transportation and third-party logistics.

Mark S. Lundstrom (SX 1982), Don and Carol Scifres Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. For leadership in microelectronics and nanoelectronics through research, innovative education, and unique applications of cyberinfrastructure.

Michael J. McGuire (SX 1978), Michael J. McGuire Inc., Los Angeles. For scientific contributions that have improved the safety and aesthetics of drinking water.

Matthew O'Donnell (SX 1975), Frank & Julie Jungers Dean of Engineering and professor of bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle. For contributions to biomedical ultrasonics and real-time ultrasound imaging technologies.

George A. Olah (SX 1966), Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Chair in Organic Chemistry and director, Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. For contributions to the development of chemical technologies for environmentally favored and carbon-neutral energy conversion.

Stavros S. Papadopulos (SX 1963), founder and senior principal, S.S. Papadopulos & Associates Inc., Bethesda, Md. For pioneering contributions to statistical methods for estimating groundwater flow and contaminant transport.

Claire L. Parkinson (SX 1970), senior scientist and Aqua Project Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. For leadership in understanding sea-ice changes through remote measurements and for leading NASA's Earth Observing System Aqua mission.

Percy A. Pierre (SX 1978), vice president and professor emeritus, department of electrical and computer engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing. For service as assistant secretary of the Army, contributions to engineering education, and leadership in creating the national minority engineering effort.

Doraiswami Ramkrishna (SX 2008), Harry Creighton Peffer Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. For creation of new model concepts and solutions that improved the engineering of biological and particulate processes.

Robert A. Scholtz (SX 1958), Fred H. Cole Professor of Engineering, department of electrical engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. For contributions to the fields of ultra-wideband and spread-spectrum communications.

Richard M. Swanson (SX 1969), president, Swanson Analysis Services Inc., The Villages, Fla. For development of general-purpose finite-element software used in engineering design worldwide.

Stephen David Umans (SX 1970), consultant, Belmont, Mass. For outstanding teaching and contributions to the development and understanding of electric machinery.

Mark W. Verbrugge (SX 2002), director, Materials and Processes Laboratory, General Motors Research & Development and Strategic Planning, Warren, Mich. For the development and application of electroanalytical methods for advanced batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells for hybrid and electric vehicles.

Alan R. Washburn (SX 1974), distinguished professor emeritus of operations research, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif. For analytical contributions to search theory and military operations research and their application to antisubmarine, mine, and information warfare.

William L. "Red" Whittaker (SX 1973), Fredkin Professor of Robotics, The Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. For pioneering contributions to fielded, mobile, autonomous robots.

New Foreign Associates

Sébastien Candel (SX 1969), professor and head, Ecole Centrale Paris and Institut Universitaire de France, Chatenay-Malabry. For significant contributions to solving multidisciplinary problems in the fields of combustion, fluid mechanics, aeroacoustics, and propulsion.

Prakash C. Kapur (SX 1966), professor emeritus, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, New Delhi. For the elucidation, quantification, and synthesis of complex mineral-processing systems.

Peter T. Kirstein (SX 1956), professor, department of computer science, University College London, U.K. For contributions to computer networking and for leadership in bringing the Internet to Europe.

About Sigma Xi
Founded in 1886, Sigma Xi is the international honor society of research scientists and engineers, with more than 500 chapters at colleges and universities, government laboratories and industry research centers. Membership is by invitation, in recognition of research potential or achievement. Over the years, more than 200 Sigma Xi members have received the Nobel Prize. In addition to publishing American Scientist, the non-profit Society awards hundreds of grants annually to student researchers and sponsors a variety of programs that support science and engineering.