Earl Dowell, Ingrid Daubechies, Jerome P. Lynch, Kenneth C. Hall, Blake S. Wilson, Robert Calderbank, William A. Hawkins III at Duke University

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Duke Members of the National Academy of Engineering

More than 30 Duke alumni and faculty have been elected since the Academy's founding in 1964

National Academy of Engineering logoElection to the National Academy of Engineering is considered the greatest professional honor for an engineer in the United States.

As you can read below, Duke members of the NAE have made significant contributions to our national and global communities through discoveries and leadership in advanced computing, environmental engineering, aeromechanics, medical device design and much more.

At Duke, election to the NAE is a community celebration. When a member of our community is elected to the NAE, their citation is permanently inscribed into the Fitzpatrick Center Recognition Wall—creating a permanent and visible source of inspiration for the Duke community.

2023

Gabriel G. Katul of Duke University

Gabriel G. Katul

Theodore S. Coile Distinguished Professor of Hydrology & Micrometeorology in the Pratt School of Engineering

For advances in eco-hydrology and environmental fluid mechanics


2022

Guillermo Sapiro

Guillermo Sapiro

James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

For contributions to the theory and practice of imaging

 

Robert L. Clark Jr.

Robert L. Clark Jr.

Dean of Engineering, 2007-2008

For development of automated tools for rapidly identifying and indexing desirable genetic traits for next-generation seed and biotechnology product development

 


2020

Kenneth C. Hall

Kenneth C. Hall

Julian Francis Abele Distinguished Professor
Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

For development of unsteady aerodynamic and aeromechanics theories and analysis for internal and external aerodynamic flows


2019

Ana Barros

Ana Barros

Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering

For contributions to understanding and prediction of precipitation dynamics and flood hazards in mountainous terrains

Vahid Tarokh

Vahid Tarokh

Rhodes Family Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering

For contributions to space-time coding and its applications to multi-antenna wireless communications


2017

Blake Shaw Wilson

Blake S. Wilson, '74, '15

Adjunct Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Consulting Professor in Biomedical Engineering
Scholar in Residence

For engineering development of the cochlear implant that bestows hearing to individuals with profound deafness


2016

William A. Hawkins III

William A. Hawkins III, '76

For leadership in biomedical engineering and translational medicine

Kristina Johnson

Kristina Johnson

Dean of Engineering, 1999-2007

For development and deployment of liquid crystal on silicon display technologies, the basis for high speed optoelectronic 3D imaging

Jennifer L. West

Jennifer West

Fitzpatrick Family University Professor of Engineering, 2012-2021

For developments in photothermal and theranostic therapies and bioabsorbed scaffolds for tissue regeneration


2015

Ingrid Daubechies

Ingrid Daubechies

James B. Duke Professor of Mathematics
Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering

For contributions to the mathematics and applications of wavelets

Mark R. Wiesner

Mark R. Wiesner

James B. Duke Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering

For contributions to membrane technologies for water treatment and understanding of environmental behavior and risk of nanomaterials


2014

M. Katherine Banks

M. Katherine Banks, '89

For contributions to phytoremediation of petroleum contamination, and for leadership in engineering education


2011

Fred Lee

Fred Lee, '72, '74

For contributions to high-frequency power conversion and systems integration technologies, education, industry alliances, and technology transfer


2009

Frank Bowman

Frank L. Bowman, '66, '03

NAE Gibbs Medal, 2022

For leadership in the design of nuclear-reactor propulsion plants to support the power requirements of evolving combat systems

Robert L. Cook

Robert L. Cook, '73

For building the motion picture industry's standard rendering tool

J. Turner Whitted

J. Turner Whitted, '69, '70

For contributions to computer graphics, notably recursive raytracing


2005

Robert Calderbank

A. Robert Calderbank

Charles S. Sydnor Professor of Computer Science
Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering

For leadership in communications research, from advances in algebraic coding theory to signal processing for wire-line and wireless modems

Edward M. Clarke Jr.

Edmund M. Clarke, Jr. '68

For contributions to the formal verification of hardware and software correctness

He died December 22, 2020 at age 75. A remembrance from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette »


2002

Douglas M. Chapin

Douglas M. Chapin, '62

For improvements in reliability and the prevention and mitigation of core damage accidents in nuclear reactors worldwide


2000

Joseph A. Yura

Joseph A. Yura, '59

For research and educational contributions on bracing and stability for steel structures


1999

Theodore C. Kennedy

Theodore C. Kennedy, '52

For leadership and innovation in advancing the nation's construction industry

He died May 8, 2012 at age 81. A memorial tribute by Earl H. Dowell »


1998

Robert M. Koerner

Robert M. Koerner, '68

For design and use of geosynthetics in the constructed environment

He died on December 1, 2019, aged 86. A memoriam published by the Koerner Family Foundation »

Charles H. Townes

Charles H. Townes, '37, '66

For development of the maser and laser

He died on January 27, 2015, at age 99. A remembrance from The Optical Society (OSA) »


1997

Henry Petroski

Henry Petroski

Aleksandar S. Vesic Distinguished Professor Emeritus

For books, articles, and lectures on engineering and the profession that have reached and influenced a wide range of audiences


1994

Charles H. Gibbons

John H. Gibbons, '54, '97

For leadership in a broad spectrum of initiatives toward the development and communication of national policies for technological issues

He died July 17, 2015 at age 86. A memorial tribute published by the NAE »


1993

Charles B. Duke

Charles B. Duke, '59

For providing the theoretical foundations for developments in xerography

He died on June 28, 2019 at age 81. A remembrance in Physics Today »

Earl H. Dowell

Earl H. Dowell

William Holland Hall Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Dean of Engineering, 1983-1999

For contributions to aeroelasticity and structural dynamics, which provide continuing insights into the behavior of complex structural systems


1989

Robert E. Fischell

Robert E. Fischell, '51

For pioneering contributions to satellite altitude control and for leadership and innovation in bringing aerospace technology to implantable biomedical devices


1986

Walter L. Brown

Walter L. Brown, '53

For the discovery of semiconductor surface channels crucial in field-effect transistors, and for contributions to ion beam uses in semiconductor diagnostics and processing

He died Oct. 29, 2017, at age 93. A remembrance in Physics Today »

Robert Plonsey

Robert Plonsey

Pfizer-Pratt University Professor Emeritus

For the application of electromagnetic field theory to biology, and for distinguished leadership in the emerging profession of biomedical engineering

He died March 14, 2015, at age 90. A remembrance by Duke colleagues »


1979

John CockeJohn Cocke, '45, '56, '88

For leadership in high-performance computer design and contribution to the field of optimizing compilers

He died July 17, 2002 at age 77. A remembrance by his friends »

 

Robert R. EverettRobert R. Everett, '42, '92

For pioneering of digital computers and their application to real-time control system

He died August, 15, 2018 at age 97. A biographical interview by MIT »

 


1976

Frederick P. Brooks Jr.Frederick P. Brooks. Jr. '53

For contributions to computer system design and the development of academic programs in computer sciences

He died on November 17, 2022, at the age of 91. Read his obituary in The New York Times »

 

Charles H. HolleyCharles H. Holley, '41

For pioneering contributions to the evolution of turbine-generator design

He died on October 9, 2012, at the age of 93. A memorial tribute published by the NAE »


1974

Lewis Branscomb

Lewis M. Branscomb, '45, '71

For leadership in advancing national and international science and technology