Two Berkeley Engineering professors named to NAE

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) added two Berkeley Engineering professors to its ranks, one of the highest professional honors accorded to an engineer in the United States.

Newly elected members, announced today, include Paulo Monteiro, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Per Peterson, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering.

Monteiro is the Roy W. Carlson Distinguished Professor who specializes in structural engineering, mechanics and materials. He has done extensive research into making concrete — the key ingredient to the nation’s roads, highways and bridges — more environmentally sustainable.  The NAE cited his “contributions to the science and nanotechnology of concrete for sustainable construction and durable structures.”

Peterson,  the William S. Floyd and Jean McCallum Floyd Chair in Engineering, manages the UC Berkeley Thermal Hydraulics Research Laboratory. His expertise includes nuclear reactor design, radioactive waste, and nuclear materials management. He was cited for “experimental and analytical research contributions for the design and development of passive safety systems for advanced nuclear reactors.”

Among the new NAE members are several Berkeley Engineering alumni. They are:

• Eleanor Allen (M.S. ’97 CEE), CEO of Water for People.
• David Allstot (Ph.D. ’79 EECS), professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Oregon State University
• Reginald DesRoches (B.S. ’90 M.S. ’92 Ph.D. ’97 CEE), William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering at Rice University
• John Fan (B.S. ’66 EECS), president, CEO and chairman of the board of Kopin Corp.
• Susan Hubbard (Ph.D. ’98 CEE), associate laboratory director and senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She is also an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources.
• Ronald Klemencic (M.S. ’86 CEE),  chairman and CEO of Magnusson Klemencic Associates
• Steven Kramer (B.S. ’77  MEng ’79 CEE), professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Washington
• Chen-Ching Liu (Ph.D. ’83 EECS), American Electric Power Professor at Virginia Tech
• Lelio Mejia (M.S. ’78 CEE), senior principal engineer at Geosyntec Consultants

In addition, the following are NAE international members who are Berkeley Engineering alumni:

• Deng Zhonghan (Ph.D. ’97 EECS), CEO and chairman of Vimicro Group
• Rabab Ward (M.S. ’69 EECS), professor emeritus of electrical engineering and computer engineering at the University of British Columbia

Overall, the NAE elected 87 new members and 18 international members to its 2020 class, bringing its total U.S. membership to 2,309 and the number of international members to 281. With today’s announcement, there are now 78 Berkeley Engineering faculty members in the NAE.

New members will be inducted into the academy at a ceremony in Washington, DC in October.