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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
Election 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
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
James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
For contributions to the theory and practice of imaging
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
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
Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering
For contributions to understanding and prediction of precipitation dynamics and flood hazards in mountainous terrains
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 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, '76
For leadership in biomedical engineering and translational medicine
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 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
James B. Duke Professor of Mathematics
Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
For contributions to the mathematics and applications of wavelets
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, '89
For contributions to phytoremediation of petroleum contamination, and for leadership in engineering education
2011
Fred Lee, '72, '74
For contributions to high-frequency power conversion and systems integration technologies, education, industry alliances, and technology transfer
2009
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, '73
For building the motion picture industry's standard rendering tool
J. Turner Whitted, '69, '70
For contributions to computer graphics, notably recursive raytracing
2005
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
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, '62
For improvements in reliability and the prevention and mitigation of core damage accidents in nuclear reactors worldwide
2000
Joseph A. Yura, '59
For research and educational contributions on bracing and stability for steel structures
1999
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, '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, '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
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
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, '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
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, '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, '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
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 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. 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. '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. 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 M. Branscomb, '45, '71
For leadership in advancing national and international science and technology