The National Academy of Engineering announced last week that five persons associated with MIT, including a department head, have been elected to the NAE this year. They were:
- Dr. Paul L. Penfield, Jr., professor of electrical engineering and head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
- Dr. Woodie C. Flowers, School of Engineering Professor of Teaching Innovation.
- Dr. John G. Kassakian, professor of electrical engineering and director of the Laboratory for Electromagnetic and Electronic Systems.
- Dr. James D. Livingston, senior lecturer in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
- Dr. Gunter Stein, adjunct professor of electrical engineering, and corporate fellow and chief scientist. Honeywell Systems and Research Center.
(A number of MIT alumni/ae also were elected, and their names will be published in a subsequent issue of Tech Talk.)
The elections bring to 97 the number of MIT active and emeriti/ae faculty elected to NAE, which chose 79 new members this year. It now has 1,732 US members and 148 foreign associates.
Election to the Academy is among the highest professional distinctions accorded an engineer. Membership is conferred on those who have made "important contributions to engineering theory and practice, including significant contributions to the literature of engineering theory and practice," and to those who have demonstrated "unusual accomplishment in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology."
The citations by the NAE for the new MIT members were as follows:
Dr. Penfield-For contributions to very large scale integration (VLSI) simulation and to the theory of active networks and for leadership in engineering education and microstructures research.
Dr. Flowers-For contributions to the teaching of mechanical engineering design.
Dr. Kassakian-For contributions to research, education and industrial alliances in power electronics.
Dr. Livingston-For developing the relationship between microstructure and the superconducting ferromagnetic and mechanical properties of metals and alloys.
Dr. Stein-For contributions to the design of multivariable control systems and to adaptive control.
A version of this article appeared in the February 16, 1994 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 38, Number 23).
