Five Stanford professors elected to National Academy of Engineering

By Dawn Levy

Five Stanford professors have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Per K. Enge, Gerald G. Fuller, Ilan M. Kroo, James O. Leckie and Jennifer Widom were among 75 new members announced by the NAE on Feb. 11. Their election brings the number of Stanford academy members to 84 plus one foreign associate.

"The School of Engineering is delighted that five of our colleagues have been elected to the NAE," said Jim Plummer, the Frederick Emmons Terman Dean of the School of Engineering and the John M. Fluke Professor of Electrical Engineering, who is himself an NAE member. "More faculty were elected this year from Stanford than from any other school of engineering in the country. Each of the five has made tremendous contributions to their technical fields. But their contributions to the school and to Stanford go well beyond that. Each of them is a terrific teacher and their research contributions have impacted students and colleagues well beyond their immediate research group. All of us are honored to have them as colleagues."

The NAE promotes the technological welfare of the nation by marshaling the knowledge and insight of eminent members of the engineering profession. Total U.S. membership is 2,195 with 178 foreign associates.

Election to the NAE is one of the highest professional distinctions that can be accorded an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made "important contributions to engineering theory and practice" and those who have demonstrated "unusual accomplishment in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology."

Per Kristian Enge, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics and the Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield, Sequoia Capital Professor in the School of Engineering, was lauded "for leadership in the development of augmentations to marine and aviation global positioning systems that have become worldwide standards."

Gerald G. Fuller, professor of chemical engineering, was praised "for contributions to our understanding of the rheology [the study of the deformation and flow of matter, such as the deformation of red blood cells in small capillaries] of complex fluids and fluid interfaces and the development of unique rheo-optical techniques."

Ilan M. Kroo, professor of aeronautics and astronautics, was acclaimed "for new concepts in aircraft design methodology and for the design and development of the SWIFT sailplane."

James O. Leckie, professor of civil and environmental engineering and the C. L. Peck, Class of 1906 Professor, was celebrated "for advances in our understanding of metal and oxyanion adsorption on environmental surfaces that have led to novel strategies for soil and groundwater remediation."

Jennifer Widom, professor of computer science and of electrical engineering, was applauded "for contributions to the design and implementation of active and semi-structured data management systems."

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