Three Berkeley Engineering professors named to NAE

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) announced today that three UC Berkeley Engineering faculty members — Ken Goldberg, Kam Lau and Felix Wu — have been elected to its ranks. The number of engineering faculty members in the NAE is now 75.

Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those 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.

Goldberg, professor of industrial engineering and operations research and of electrical engineering and computer sciences (EECS), is recognized for contributions to practice, research and education in robotics and automation for industrial parts handling. He serves as director of UC Berkeley’s AUTOLab, where he supervises research on robotics, with an emphasis on AI and robot learning. Goldberg is also a professional artist and holds an appointment at UCSF, where he conducts research in medical robotics.

Lau, professor emeritus of EECS, is cited for contributions to semiconductor lasers and radio frequency over fiber systems. His innovative research in semiconductor laser dynamics was central to enabling linear fiber-optic transmission products for Hybrid-Fiber-Coax infrastructure, widely deployed today for CATV-distribution and cable modem internet access.

Wu (Ph.D.’72 EECS), professor emeritus of EECS, is recognized for contributions to the development of analytical and computational methods for power system stability and security. His research interests span electric power systems analysis, generation and transmission systems planning and investment, power system control and communications, and electric energy industry restructuring. He is an emeritus and honorary professor at the University of Hong Kong.

The EECS department is shared with the College of Computing, Data Science and Society.

In addition to the new members from Berkeley Engineering, UC Berkeley faculty members Nitash Balsara, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and Jennifer Doudna, professor of chemistry and of molecular and cell biology, were elected to the NAE.

This year’s roster of newly elected members also includes several Berkeley Engineering alumni:

• Jonathan Cagan (Ph.D.’90 ME), George Tallman and Florence Barrett Ladd Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
• Giovanni De Micheli (M.S.’80, Ph.D.’83 EECS), professor and director, EcoCloud, Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne
• Gary Guthart (B.S.’87 Eng. Physics), executive chair of the board of directors, Intuitive Surgical Inc.
• Jitendra Kikani (M.S.’85 ME), vice president, Subsurface, Chevron Corp.
• Mark Liu (M.S.’81, Ph.D.’83 EECS), executive chairman, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
• Howard McKenzie (B.S.’88 ME), executive vice president and chief engineer, Engineering, Test, and Technology, Boeing Co.
• Peyman Milanfar (B.S.’88 Eng. Math & Statistics), distinguished scientist, Google Inc.
• Mason Walters (MEng’80 CE), senior principal structural engineer, Forell/Elsesser Engineers
• Andrew Whittaker (M.S.’85, Ph.D.’88 CE), SUNY Distinguished Professor, Department of Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering, University at Buffalo

This announcement brings the total number of NAE members to 2,534 nationwide and 356 internationally. Inductees will be formally inducted during the NAE’s Annual Meeting this fall.

Related stories

Four UC Berkeley faculty elected to National Academy of Engineering