Nine members of the RPI community elected to the National Academy of Engineering – Troy Record

RPI campus. (Photo provided)

TROY, NY – Nine members of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) community, including alumni, faculty and a member of the RPI Board of Trustees, were recently inducted into The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Class of 2024.

Membership in the NAE is considered one of the highest honors in the field. The award is given for ‘outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature’, and ‘pioneering new and developing areas of technology, making major advances on traditional engineering areas. ”

Christian Belady ’86; Darío Gil, Ph.D.; Martha Grabowski, MBA ’82, MS ’83, Ph.D. ’87; Kiruba Sivasubramaniam Haran, Ph.D. ’00; Peter Hart ’62, Ph.D.; Nicholas Miller ’79, ’80; George Pappas ’91, ’92 Ph.D.; Charles Taylor, Jr. ’87, ’91, ’92, Ph.D.; and Steven Weiner ’78 have been chosen as the newest members of the NAE Class of 2024.

When the induction ceremony is held at NAE’s annual meeting in September, the RPI nominees will join more than 80 living RPI alumni and faculty in the academy.

“That so many researchers who have studied and worked at and on behalf of RPI should receive this award as we celebrate our bicentennial is a testament to their talent and hard work, as well as our history of innovation and education,” says RPI- chairman Martin Schmidt ’81 said in a news release. “These remarkable engineers exemplify the spirit of creativity, dedication, entrepreneurship and civic responsibility that has characterized Rensselaer for 200 years at the intersection of pedagogy and technology.”

Belady received a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from RPI in 1986. Most recently, he served as vice president and distinguished engineer for Microsoft’s Datacenter Advanced Development group in Mercer Island, Washington. The NAE recognized him for “providing energy-efficient data centers and metrics to characterize the efficiency of their energy use.”

Gil, senior vice president and director of IBM Research, is a member of the Rensselaer Board of Trustees. He leads IBM’s technical community and leads innovation strategies in hybrid cloud, AI, semiconductors, quantum computing and exploratory science. The NAE recognized him “for the advancement and practical use of artificial intelligence and quantum computing in industry and society.”

Grabowski earned three degrees from RPI: a Master of Business Administration in 1982, a Master of Science in industrial engineering in 1983, and a doctorate in management/information systems in 1987. She is now a senior researcher at RPI and professor of information technology. systems at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, where she is also the McDevitt Distinguished Chair in Information Systems and director of the Information Systems program. The NAE recognized her for “developing information systems that promote transportation safety and for national leadership in maritime transportation policy.”

Haran obtained a PhD in electrical power engineering from RPI in 2000. He is now Grainger Endowed Director’s Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director of the Grainger Center for Electric Machinery and Electromechanics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The NAE recognized him “for his high-power-density electrical and superconducting machine technology and innovations in electric aircraft propulsion.”

Hart earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from RPI in 1962 and went on to earn a Master of Science and doctorate from Stanford University. He is now chairman emeritus of Ricoh Innovations Inc., which he founded in 1989 in Cupertino, California. The NAE recognized him “for pattern classification, information theory, computer vision and robotics.”

Miller earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in electrical power engineering from RPI in 1979 and 1980, respectively. The Miller family has a strong RPI heritage, as Miller’s father, brothers, daughter and eight extended family members are all RPI alumni. He is now a director at HickoryLedge LLC in Delmar. The NAE recognized him “for the reliable integration of wind and solar power plants into electrical energy systems.”

Pappas earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical, computer and systems engineering and a Master of Science in electrical engineering from RPI in 1991 and 1992, respectively. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. He is now a UPS Foundation Professor and chairman of the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. The NAE recognized him “for the analysis, synthesis and control of safety-critical cyber-physical systems.”

Taylor earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and two master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and mathematics from RPI in 1987, 1991 and 1992, respectively. He subsequently earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, where he became an associate professor of bioengineering and surgery. He is now Chief Scientific Officer of HeartFlow Inc., which he founded in 2010 in Mountain View, California. The NAE recognized him “for patient-specific computer modeling of blood flow and the non-invasive diagnosis of heart disease.”

Weiner earned a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from RPI in 1978. He subsequently became director of engineering sciences at Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and the Lockheed Martin company, where he designed the X2 Technology Demonstrator helicopter. The NAE recognized him “for the development and deployment of advanced high-speed VTOL aircraft.”