CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Incoming University of Illinois Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Linda P.B. Katehi and College of Engineering Interim Dean Ilesanmi Adesida have been elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering, the academy announced today.
Katehi and Adesida were among 76 engineers selected for membership in the NAE, which was established in 1964 under a charter from the National Academy of Sciences as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers.
Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions in engineering. The current NAE membership includes 2,216 U.S. engineers and 186 foreign associates.
"This recognition and prestigious honor is yet one more indication of the valuable contributions these outstanding researchers have made in their distinguished careers," said Chancellor Richard Herman. "We are extremely proud of their accomplishments, which are emblematic of the excellence that suffuses a great research university."
Katehi, the John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering at Purdue University, was cited for her contributions to three-dimensional integrated circuits and on-wafer packaging and to engineering education. Katehi will begin her duties at Illinois on April 1.
Adesida, a Donald Biggar Willett Professor of Engineering, was cited for his contributions to the nanometer-scale processing of semiconductor structures and applications in high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices.
Adesida joined the Illinois faculty in 1987. He is a professor of electrical and computer engineering, director of the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, and has served as interim dean since June 2005.