April 16, 2007

ENG staff and managers have been recognized recently with a number of awards for their outstanding contributions to the field of engineering. 

Usha Varshney (Division Director, Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems) was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in October 2006. Dr. Varshney was cited for “distinguished contributions to setting research directions and policy in electrical engineering with special emphasis on communications, complex systems, and nanotechnology”. She was presented the AAAS Fellowship Rosette that symbolizes the honor that AAAS bestows upon its members whose efforts on behalf of the advancement in science or its applications in service to society have distinguished them among their peers.

Maria Burka (Program Director, Process and Reaction Engineering) was honored in April 2006 as one of 50 Key Women in Energy, a global honors program whose mission is to identify and recognize women making significant contributions to the energy industry and allied business and research pursuits. The most recent group of honorees represent 28 different nations/nationalities, and work in diverse fields spanning the energy sector—ranging from commercial, policy, law, and education to engineering, science, and technology. Awards were made in seven categories, with Dr. Burka being honored in the Wisdom Category.

Ken Chong (Program Director, Mechanics and Structure of Materials) was elected Fellow of the Society of Experimental Mechanics. One of only two Fellows named in 2006, Dr. Chong was honored at the Society’s annual congress in St. Louis, MO in May. He was cited for work at NSF that is “changing the university culture in systems approaches/integration” as well as for his involvement in model-based simulation, durability and accelerated tests, life-cycle engineering, and nanotechnology.

Leon Esterowitz (Program Director, Biophotonics) was named Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). At an induction ceremony held in Washington, DC in March 2006, Dr. Esterowitz was cited for outstanding “scientific and administrative contributions in the areas of laser technology, biomedical optics, and rehabilitation engineering.” Of AIMBE’s membership of some 75,000 bioengineers, only 1,000 have been elected Fellows.

Michael Plesniak (Program Director, Fluid Dynamics and Hydraulics) was elected an ASME Fellow in March 2006. Dr. Plesniak was cited for “significant contributions to education and research in the discipline of fluid dynamics,” specifically for his work in the field of turbulent flow physics, “for applications ranging from gas turbine cooling to biological flows.” The citation also notes his leadership in the engineering community for service as associate editor of the ASME Journal of Fluids Engineering as well as his service as an NSF Program Director. Fewer than 3 percent of ASME’s global membership of more than 100,000 have been elevated to the grade of Fellow.

Usha Varshney (Division Director, Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems) was elected Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in January 2006, an honor conferred in recognition of an extraordinary record of accomplishment in IEEE fields of interest. Dr. Varshney was cited for “technical leadership in sensor technologies and systems”.

Mario Rotea (Program Director, Control Systems) has been elevated to the grade of Fellow in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), an honor conferred in recognition of an extraordinary record of accomplishment in IEEE fields of interest. In its citation, IEEE recognized Dr. Rotea for his contributions to robust and optimal control of multivariable systems.

Adnan Akay (Division Director, CMMI) received ASME’s Per Bruel Gold Medal for Noise Control and Acoustics in November 2005. The award is given annually in recognition of eminent achievement and extraordinary merit in the field of noise control and acoustics, including useful applications of the principles of noise control and acoustics to the art and science of mechanical engineering. Established in 1987, the medal honors Dr. Per Bruel, a pioneer in the development of sophisticated equipment for measuring noise and vibration.

Richard Buckius (Assistant Director for Engineering) was awarded the James Harry Potter Gold Medal by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in June, 2006. Established in 1980, this annual award recognizes eminent achievement or distinguished service in the science of thermodynamics in mechanical engineering, including contributions involving the teaching, appreciation, or utilization of thermodynamic principles in research, development, and design in mechanical engineering. In bestowing this high honor, ASME’s board cited Dr. Buckius for his “outstanding and innovative contributions in the areas of thermodynamics education through the authoring of textbooks and highly effective teaching; and in research through scholarship in the fields of thermodynamics of heat transfer, energy and combustion systems.”

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