Nine Grainger engineers and affiliates elected to prestigious National Academy of Engineers

Nine members and affiliates of The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been elected by their peers to the National Academy of Engineers, one of the engineering field’s highest professional distinctions.

Academy membership honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice or education. Members are also recognized for pioneering new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing and implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.

“NAE members are among the world’s most accomplished engineers. This recognition reflects the extraordinary impact of their work and underscores the strength and reach of Grainger Engineering and U. of I.,” said Rashid Bashir, dean of The Grainger College of Engineering. “I’m incredibly proud of our amazing community on campus and around the globe.”

New Faculty Member: 

Christopher Luis Burcham (’91, B.S., Chemical Engineering), professor of the practice in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at U. of I.: For contributions to crystallization, particle engineering and process control to advance pharmaceutical engineering and enable new therapies to market.

New Alumni Members:

Robert Warren Dudley (’78, B.S., Chemical Engineering), chief executive officer, BP: For leadership in containing the Deepwater Horizon spill and revolutionizing industry safety standards in global energy production.

David Hays (’93, B.S, Chemistry), senior staff scientist, 3M: For materials and manufacturing process discoveries in pharmaceuticals, optical films, specialty adhesives and biopharma purification membranes.

George Leventis (’85, M.S., Civil Engineering), managing principal and executive vice president, Langan Engineering and managing director, Langan International LLC: For geotechnical engineering, deep foundations, seismic risk assessment and mitigation, and construction of complex civil works.

David McDowell (’81, M.S., ’83, Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering), regents’ professor emeritus, Georgia Institute of Technology, Lilburn: For microstructure-sensitive computational modeling of engineering alloys and methodologies for computational materials design.

Kenneth McMillan (’84, B.S., Electrical Engineering), professor and Admiral B.R. Inman Centennial Chair, The University of Texas at Austin: For contributions to the formal verification of hardware and software.

Juan Gabriel Santiago (’92, M.S., ’95, Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering), Charles Lee Powell Foundation Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University: For advancing micro-scale transport and applications of microfluidic systems.

Thomas Siebel (’75, B.A., History, ’83, M.B.A, ’85, M.S. Computer Science), chairman, C3 AI: For the development of customer relationship management software and significant contributions to talent development in engineering.

Karen Thole (’82, B.S., ’84, M.S., Mechanical Engineering), Robert J. Vlasic Dean, College of Engineering, The University of Michigan: For contributions to gas turbines through the development and deployment of innovative cooling technologies.

Founded in 1964, the NAE provides independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation, offering leadership and insights to address complex challenges.

Grainger Engineering Affiliations:

Christopher Burcham is a professor of the practice in the Department of Chemical And Biomolecular Engineering. Burcham is a Fellow in the American Institute of Engineers and currently serves on the Programming Committee for the Association of Crystallization Technology.