IEEE Fellow first woman to receive highest award in engineering profession
May 17th, 2008 | by admin |WASHINGTON (16 May 2008) — Dr. Kristina M. Johnson, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, recently received the John Fritz Medal from the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES). She is the first woman so honored.
Johnson was one of seven honorees during the AAES 29th annual awards ceremony in the Great Hall of the National Academy of Engineering on 5 May. She was cited for her internationally acknowledged expertise in optics, optoelectronic switching and display technology.
The John Fritz Medal, referred to as the highest award in the engineering profession, is presented each year for scientific or industrial achievement in any field of pure or applied science. It was established in 1902 as a memorial to the great engineer whose name it bears. Past recipients include Alexander Graham Bell (1907), Thomas Edison (1908), Alfred Nobel (1910), Orville Wright (1920) and Guglielmo Marconi (1923).
Johnson is an IEEE Fellow and electrical engineer who, as the former dean of engineering at Duke University, increased the engineering faculty by 50 percent, tripled the size of the teaching and research facilities, and tripled the number of women engineering faculty, many in leadership positions. She co-founded the Colorado Advanced Technology Institute for Excellence in Optoelectronics and started several companies that are commercially successful in color projection devices and intellectual property licensing.
University of Michigan professor Dr. Donald B. Chaffin received the National Engineering Award.
Chaffin was honored for his truly inspirational leadership and devotion to the improvement of industrial operations, biomedical engineering education, the advancement of the engineering profession, as well as to the development of national policies for the protection of worker safety and health.
Chaffin is the Richard G. Snyder Distinguished University ProfesContact: Chris McManes
c.mcmanes@ieee.org
202-530-8356
IEEE-USASource:Eurekalertsor Emeritus, Industrial and Operations Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, at Michigan. He has for more than 40 years advocated using science to improve productivity in manufacturing operations and assure the health and safety of industrial workers. His book, Occupational Biomechanics, is used at more than 200 universities worldwide. The Human Motion Simulation Laboratory he founded at Michigan is dedicated to ensuring that worker safety and convenience are more thoroughly considered in vehicle and workplace design.
The National Engineering Award is presented for inspirational leadership and tireless devotion to the improvement of engineering education and to the advancement of the engineering profession, as well as to the development of sound public policies as an engineer-statesman. Previous recipients include astronaut Neil Armstrong (1979) and former Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine (1991).
Dr. Patricia P. Nelson, a noted geotechnical engineer and disaster control specialist, received the Kenneth Andrew Roe Award for effectively promoting unity among the engineering societies through her leadership positions at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where she serves as provost.
As director of NSFs Civil & Mechanical Systems, Nelson created interdisciplinary research programs, established new research programs for sensors and professional opportunities for women. She founded the Institute for Infrastructure Systems to broaden the scientific basis of planning and decision making on infrastructure projects, and to expand infrastructure knowledge in society, particularly among elementary and high school students.
The Kenneth Andrew Roe Award is presented on behalf of the engineering community to recognize an engineer who has been effective in promoting unity among the engineering societies.
Dr. Gerald E. Galloway was presented the Norm Augustine Award for communicating theContact: Chris McManes
c.mcmanes@ieee.org
202-530-8356
IEEE-USASource:Eurekalert
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