NAE Members

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is one of the highest professional honors accorded an engineer. Members have distinguished themselves in business and academic management, in technical positions, as university faculty, and as leaders in government and private engineering organizations. Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at Illinois is proud of the many alumni and department faculty who have been elected to the academy.

Montgomery M. Alger

PhD 1982 (Eckert)

ELECTION YEAR: 2010
CITATION: For the innovative fusion of business and process engineering models to advance engineering applications and analysis.

Richard C. Alkire

PhD 1968-72, Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 1988
CITATION: For imaginative research on engineering aspects of electrodeposition and corrosion and for leadership in electrochemical engineering.

John L. Anderson

PhD 1971 (Quinn/Westwater)

ELECTION YEAR: 1992
CITATION: For contributions to the understanding of colloidal hydrodynamics and membrane transport phenomena.

Albert L. Babb

PhD 1951 (Drickamer)

ELECTION YEAR: 1972
CITATION: Engineering contributions to the development of artificial kidney systems and medical applications of nuclear energy.

Donald W. Bahr

BS 1949

ELECTION YEAR: 1991
CITATION: For creative and pioneering effort in high-performance aircraft engine combustion systems design and the reduction of their pollutant emissions.

William J. Bailey

PhD 1946 (Marvel)

ELECTION YEAR: 1990
CITATION: For major contributions to the field of engineered polymers including development of strain free adhesives, biodegradable polymers and thermally stable ladder polymers.

William Banholzer

PhD 1983 (Masel)

ELECTION YEAR: 2002
CITATION: For breakthroughs in stealth materials and contributions to the isotope effect in solid-state physics, and for business leadership.

Thomas Baron

PhD 1948, Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 1977
CITATION: Contributions to engineering theory and practice in the areas of organic chemical reactions, combustion, and separations processes.

Arnold O. Beckman

BS 1921, MS 1923

ELECTION YEAR: 1967
CITATION: Invention and development of precision instruments.

R. Byron Bird

BS 1947

ELECTION YEAR: 1969
CITATION: Contributions to fundamental chemical engineering in the fields of transport phenomena and rheology.

David V. Boger

PhD 1965

ELECTION YEAR: 2017
CITATION: For discoveries and fundamental research on elastic and particulate fluids and their application to waste minimization in the minerals industry.

Joan F. Brennecke

PhD 1989 (Eckert)

ELECTION YEAR: 2012
CITATION: For innovation in the use of ionic liquids and supercritical fluids for environmentally benign chemical processing.

Leo Chiang

PhD 2001 (Braatz)

ELECTION YEAR: 2023
CITATION: For contributions to process data analytics and its applications to process monitoring and for continuous improvement in the chemical industry.

Hariklia Deligianni

PhD 1988 (Alkire)

ELECTION YEAR: 2019
CITATION: For electrochemical processes used by major microelectronic chip producers worldwide.

Stephen W. Drew

BS 1976, MS 1978

ELECTION YEAR: 1993
CITATION: For the development, design, and commercialization of processes for the production of recombinant vaccines and pharmaceutical chemicals.

Harry G. Drickamer

Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 1979
CITATION: Contributions in the development of high-pressure techniques, and in the elucidation of new properties of solids, and of diffusion in liquids.

Charles A. Eckert

Professor, Head

ELECTION YEAR: 1983
CITATION: Outstanding contributions leading to the selection of liquid metals and supercritical fluids as solvents in chemical reactors, and to improved understanding of the extreme conditions in such reactors.

Curtis W. Frank

PhD 1972 (Drickamer)

ELECTION YEAR: 2013
CITATION: For elucidation of molecular organization in polymers and other soft materials.

Sheldon K. Friedlander

PhD 1954 (Johnstone)

ELECTION YEAR: 1975
CITATION: Contributions to the understanding of the origin and control of pollution by particulate matter.

Shun Chong Fung

PhD 1969 (Drickamer)

ELECTION YEAR: 2007
CITATION: For the investigation of factors underlying the deactivation and reactivation of catalysts, and for application of the findings in commercial practice.

Edwin R. Gilliland

BS 1930

ELECTION YEAR: 1965
CITATION: Eminent chemical engineer.

William S. Hammack

MS 1986, PhD 1988, Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 2022
CITATION: For innovations in multidisciplinary engineering education, outreach, and service to the profession through the development and communication of internet-delivered content.

Thomas J. Hanratty

Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 1974
CITATION: Contributions in the analysis and design of turbulent, gas-liquid, and solid-liquid flow systems.

Win-Sow (Winston) Ho

PhD 1971 (Quinn)

ELECTION YEAR: 2002
CITATION: For the invention and commercialization of novel separation technologies and the development of new theoretical models for membrane separations.

George M. (Bud) Homsy

PhD 1969 (Hudson)

ELECTION YEAR: 2006
CITATION: For innovative experimental and theoretical studies of multiphase and interfacial flow phenomena and for the development of educational materials in fluid mechanics.

John L. Hudson

BS 1959, Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 2008
CITATION: For advances in the understanding and engineering of complex dynamic chemical-reaction systems.

Donald L. Johnson

BS 1962

ELECTION YEAR: 1993
CITATION: For development and commercialization of advanced processing systems for the conversion of renewable biomass to commodity and specialty chemicals.

Sangtae Kim

Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 2001
CITATION: For contributions to microhydrodynamics, protein dynamics, and drug discovery through the application of high-performance computing.

Douglas A. Lauffenburger

BS 1975, Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 2001
CITATION: For contributions in molecular and cellular engineering and for interfacing modern biology with engineering principles.

Robert J. Madix

BS 1961

ELECTION YEAR: 2022
CITATION: For the development of quantitative models for predicting catalytic selectivity through the fundamental understanding of reaction mechanism and kinetics.

Walter G. May

Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 1978
CITATION: Contributions to engineering theory and practice in the fields of fluidization, high-energy propellants, LNG technology, and centrifugal isotope separation.

David W. McCall

PhD 1953 (Gutowsky)

ELECTION YEAR: 1984
CITATION: For leadership in the engineering of polymers for high performance and reliability in communications and electronics.

Keith W. McHenry Jr.

BS 1951

ELECTION YEAR: 1982
CITATION: Development of new catalytic processes toward utilization of heavy, sulfur-containing petroleum feedstocks, and service to engineering education.

Robert M. Nowak

PhD 1956 (Marvel)

ELECTION YEAR: 1992
CITATION: For contributions and leadership in the development of new polymer synthesis and processing technologies.

Max S. Peters

Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 1969
CITATION: Contributions to the study of kinetics and mechanisms of chemical reactions.

Robert L. Pigford

PhD 1942 (Johnstone)

ELECTION YEAR: 1971
CITATION: Contributions to the thermodynamics and kinetic bases for the theory, understanding, and design of industrial phase-exchange units such as distillation columns, gas absorbers, and solvent extractors.

John A. Quinn

Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 1978
CITATION: Pioneering research in mass transfer, particularly phenomena associated with transport through interfaces and membranes.

Walter L. Robb

PhD 1951 (Drickamer)

ELECTION YEAR: 1982
CITATION: Applications of high technology to the health and medical needs of the world community.

Nikolaos V. Sahinidis

Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 2022
CITATION: For contributions to global optimization and the development of widely used software for optimization and machine learning.

George A. Samara

PhD 1962 (Drickamer)

ELECTION YEAR: 1986
CITATION: For contributions to the understanding of dielectric, ferroelectric, and ferromagnetic materials applications.

Christine E. Schmidt

PhD 1995 (Lauffenburger)

ELECTION YEAR: 2024
CITATION: For biomaterials and tissue engineering for neural regeneration and improved wound healing and for leadership in diversifying bioengineering.

Roger A. Schmitz

BS 1959

ELECTION YEAR: 1984
CITATION: For leadership in chemical reaction engineering, particularly in the experimental and theoretical understanding of stability and oscillation in chemical reactors, and in engineering education in general.

William R. Schowalter

Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 1982
CITATION: Research, educational, and industrial contributions to non-Newtonian fluid mechanics, and promotion of fluid mechanics as a discipline transcending specific engineering fields.

John H. Sinfelt

PhD 1954 (Drickamer)

ELECTION YEAR: 1975
CITATION: Contributions in catalysis by metals and bifunctional catalysis, and especially for the concept of ‘polymetallic cluster’ catalysts.

Michael Strano

Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 2017
CITATION: For contributions to nanotechnology, including fluorescent sensors for human health and solar and thermal energy devices.

Ernest W. Thiele

BS 1919

ELECTION YEAR: 1980
CITATION: Founding of chemical engineering science through the McCabe-Thiele diagram and the Thiele Catalyst effectiveness factor.

L. Jack Thomas

PhD 1960 (Westwater)

ELECTION YEAR: 1984
CITATION: For imaginative and productive leadership in the management of science and engineering leading to the development of innovative products for the consumer and commercial-industrial marketplaces.

Klaus D. Timmerhaus

PhD 1952 (Drickamer)

ELECTION YEAR: 1975
CITATION: Contributions in research in cryogenic engineering and national leadership in support and development of chemistry and energetics research.

William J. Ward

PhD 1965 (Quinn)

ELECTION YEAR: 1989
CITATION: For contributions in membrane science and technology and for processes for the production of silicone polymers.

Darsh T. Wasan

BS 1960 (Hanratty)

ELECTION YEAR: 2004
CITATION: For pioneering research, inspirational teaching, and the development of novel technology in colloidal processing and interfacial rheology.

John F. (Jack) Welch Jr.

PhD 1961 (Westwater)

ELECTION YEAR: 1983
CITATION: Leadership in developing engineered plastics and for increasing national recognition of the importance of technology and innovation.

James W. Westwater

Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 1974
CITATION: Contributions to boiling heat transfer by high-speed photography at great magnification.

Sheldon M. Wiederhorn

PhD 1960 (Drickamer)

ELECTION YEAR: 1991
CITATION: For outstanding advancements in the development and application of test methods and basic understanding of the mechanical properties of ceramics.

Karl Dane Wittrup

Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 2012
CITATION: For developments in protein engineering, protein expression, and quantitative pharmacology.

Charles F. (Chip) Zukoski

Professor

ELECTION YEAR: 2007
CITATION: For research on the manipulation of particle interactions to alter their suspension properties, and for leadership in education.