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Duke Members of the National Academy of Engineering
Ten Duke faculty members have been elected to the NAE—seven since 2015
Election to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is considered the greatest professional honor accorded an engineer in the United States.
NAE members are national leaders distinguished in industry, research, and public policy.
More than 30 Duke alumni and faculty have been elected to the Academy since its founding in 1964.
Citations for Duke faculty and alumni members are inscribed onto the Recognition Wall in the Fitzpatrick Center atrium—creating a visible and permanent source of inspiration for all Duke Engineers.
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
Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. School Professor 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
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
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
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

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
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
1998

Robert M. Koerner, '68
For design and use of geosynthetics in the constructed environment

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
1993

Charles B. Duke, '59
For providing the theoretical foundations for developments in xerography

Earl H. Dowell
William Holland Hall 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 of Bob Plonsey from Duke Engineering »
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 systems
1976
Frederick P. Brooks. Jr. '53
For contributions to computer system design and the development of academic programs in computer sciences
Charles H. Holley, '41
For pioneering contributions to the evolution of turbine-generator design
1974

Lewis M. Branscomb, '45, '71
For leadership in advancing national and international science and technology