Rogers elected to the National Academy of Engineering

John A. Rogers, the Lee J. Flory-Founder Chair in Engineering Innovation at Illinois, and four College of Engineering alumni are among the 68 new members elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

“This is a significant recognition and prestigious honor for one of our distinguished faculty,” said Ilesanmi Adesida, the dean of the College of Engineering and member of the NAE. “Several of our alumni are among the new NAE members—a reminder of the impact our college and this university has on the world.”

Rogers, a professor of materials science and engineering, was cited for his novel electronic and optoelectronic devices and systems. Renowned for his pioneering work in flexible electronics, Rogers combines soft, stretchable materials with micro-and nanoscale electronic components to create classes of devices with a wide range of practical applications. His most recent work has produced devices from biocompatible sensor arrays to implantable LEDs to eye-inspired cameras to stretchable integrated circuits.

After earning his doctorate from MIT in 1995, Rogers was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard University Society of Fellows. In 1997, he joined Bell Laboratories as a member of technical staff, and later, director of the Condensed Matter Physics Research Department. He joined the Illinois faculty in January 2003 and is currently affiliated with the Beckman Institute and the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, as well as the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Science and Engineering and Chemistry. He also serves as director of the Center for Nanoscale Chemical-Electrical-Mechanical Manufacturing Systems (Nano-CEMMS) at Illinois.

He has written more than 300 published papers and holds more than 80 patents. Among his many honors, he has been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship and has been elected a fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Physical Society, the Materials Research Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Election to the NAE is one of the highest professional honors an engineer can garner. The 2,290 members and 202 foreign associates are an elite group distinguished by their outstanding contributions to the fields of technology and engineering.

Several College of Engineering alumni were honored by the NAE:

David D. Awschalom (BS, 1978, Engineering Physics), Peter J. Clarke Professor, director of the California NanoSystems Institute, and director of the Center for Spintronics and Quantum Computation, University of California, Santa Barbara. For contributions to the understanding of spin coherence and spintronics.

William Frasier Baker Jr. (MS 1980, Civil and Environmental Engineering), structural and civil engineering partner, Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill LLP, Chicago. For leadership in the development of innovative structures for high-rise buildings worldwide.

Armen Der Kiureghian (PhD 1976, Civil and Environmental Engineering), Taisei Professor of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley. For contributions to risk and reliability and earthquake engineering to advance the practice of civil and structural engineering.

Keith P. Johnston (MS 1979, PhD 1981, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering), M.C. (Bud) and Mary Beth Baird Endowed Chair and Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin. For advances in science and technology of particles and colloids used in drug delivery, biomedical imaging/therapy, microelectronics, and energy applications.
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Contact: John Rogers, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 217/244-4979.

Writer: Liz Ahlberg, physical sciences editor, News Bureau, 217/244-1073.

Photo: Thompson-McClellan

If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, editor, Engineering Communications Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 217/244-7716.