NAE Announces Winners of 2016 Founders and Bueche Awards

During its 2016 annual meeting, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) will present two awards for extraordinary impact on the engineering profession at a ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 9. The Simon Ramo Founders Award will be presented to Ruzena K. Bajcsy for her research contributions and leadership in engineering. The Arthur M. Bueche Award will be given to Henry T. Yang for his contributions to technology research, policy, and international cooperation.

Ruzena K. Bajcsy is regarded as a leader in the fields of electrical and computer engineering. With the Simon Ramo Founders Award, she is recognized “for seminal contributions to the fields of computer vision, robotics, and medical imaging, and technology and policy leadership in computer science education and research.” The award acknowledges outstanding professional, educational, and personal achievements to the benefit of society and includes a commemorative medal. Bajcsy is the second woman to receive the Simon Ramo Founders Award.

Bajcsy, who is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, has led pioneering research in her field for nearly 50 years. She is honored for two groundbreaking contributions: active perception, the basic principle and methodology that combines sensing and perception with the control of sensors to build intelligent robots; and computational anatomy, the discipline that has enabled many exciting developments in medical imaging that have clinical and research applications. The impact of her work has spread far beyond the lab, spanning scientific, engineering, and health fields. Bajcsy has also been responsible for the establishment of significant institutions that promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education. In 1978 she established at the University of Pennsylvania the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception Laboratory, recognized internationally for bringing together a broad diversity of scholars. Bajcsy is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine.

Henry T. Yang is chancellor and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He will be presented the Arthur M. Bueche Award “for seminal research in aerospace, civil, and mechanical engineering; superb contributions to national science and technology policy; and enhancements to international technological development and cooperation.” The award recognizes an engineer who has shown dedication in science and technology as well as active involvement in determining U.S. science and technology policy, and includes a commemorative medal.

Yang’s dedication and contributions to science and technology are manifested by his accomplishments in the fields of finite structural analysis, structural dynamics, tire dynamics, earthquake structural engineering, intelligent manufacturing systems, material properties of bones, and bio-inspired structural controls. He previously served as dean of engineering at Purdue University, where under his guidance the number of engineering degrees granted to women over the ten-year period totaled 3,300, which ranked Purdue number one in the nation. During his tenure at UCSB, freshman applications rose from 17,062 in 1994 to 77,090 today. Additionally, UCSB is the first AAU university to be federally designated a Hispanic Serving Institution. Yang is the longest-serving president among all AAU universities. He was elected to the NAE in 1991.

The mission of the NAE is to advance the well-being of the nation by promoting a vibrant engineering profession and by marshalling the expertise and insights of eminent engineers to provide independent advice to the federal government on matters involving engineering and technology. The NAE is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, an independent, nonprofit organization chartered by Congress to provide objective analysis and advice to the nation on matters of science, technology, and health.