The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected 84 new members and 22 foreign members, among them 6 Greek researchers (3 in each category).  This brings the total U.S. membership to 2,281 and the number of foreign members to 249.

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/ implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.”

Individuals in the newly elected class will be formally inducted during a ceremony at the NAE’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 8, 2017.

A list of the newly elected Greek members and foreign members follows, with their primary affiliations at the time of election and a brief statement of their principal engineering accomplishments.

1.Leonidas Guibas 

Paul Pigott Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, computer science department, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. For contributions to data structures, algorithm analysis, and computational geometry.

2. Dimitris Katsoulis

Senior research scientist, Dow Corning Corp., Midland, Mich. For foundational contributions to the characterization and creation of novel silicone resins, gels and elastomers, and catalysis for organosilanes.

3.Ioannis Yannas

Professor of polymer science and engineering, department of mechanical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. For co-developing the first commercially reproducible artificial skin that facilitates new growth, saving the lives of thousands of burn victims.

4.Georges Hadziioannou

University Professor Classe Exceptionelle, Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France. For foundational discoveries and insights enabling the development of polymers with advanced functionality and performance.

5.Joseph Sifakis

Professor, School of Computer and Communication Science, École Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. For co-inventing model checking and for contributions to the development and verification of real-time and embedded systems.

6.Constantinos Vayenas

Professor, department of chemical engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece. For fundamental studies on electrochemical modification of catalytic activity leading to the industrial design and use of new promoted catalysts.

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