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Texas A&M Institute for Advanced Study inducts new Faculty Fellows

man and woman walk under arch formed by sabers

The Texas A&M Institute for Advanced Study (TIAS)  inducted its Faculty Fellows for 2014-15 during its annual gala on Friday.

TIAS selects its Faculty Fellows each year from among top scholars who have distinguished themselves through outstanding professional accomplishments or significant recognition. Current members include Nobel laureates, a Wolf Prize winner, a Hubble Medal in Literature for Lifetime Achievement, a recipient of the National Medal of Science, an awardee of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and several members of major scientific or professional academies.

A&M System Chancellor John Sharp and Texas A&M Interim President Mark Hussey joined TIAS Director John Junkins in formally welcoming the Institute’s third class of Faculty Fellows:

Harold Adams, architecture, is Chairman Emeritus of RTKL International. Adams built RTKL into a large innovative company with 14 locations around the world, and is a designer of many prestigious projects. He is a member of the National Academy of Construction and the Royal Institute of British Architects and is the 2014 recipient of the Leslie N. Boney Award, the highest honor awarded by the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects. Mr. Adams was one of the first Americans to be awarded a “first class Kenchikushi” license in Japan. He has served as the KAE Professor in the University of Maryland School of Architecture (2005) and early in his career was project director for President John F. Kennedy’s grave site.

Rakesh Agrawal, chemical engineering, is the Winthrop E. Stone Professor of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University and is a recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the U.S. government’s highest honor in those fields. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and has conducted extensive research regarding solar energy production issues, including how to fabricate low-cost solar cells based on nanotechnology. Considered a master inventor, more than 100 manufacturing plants with investments of billions of dollars incorporate his inventions, repositioning parts of the U.S. manufacturing sector for world-wide competitiveness.

Jack Dongarra, computer science,  is Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at the University of Tennessee and holds the honor of being a member of the Distinguished Research Staff at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and has produced numerous software packages that have made a monumental impact on high-performance computing, as all scientific codes of any importance use products of his team.

William S. Marras, systems engineering, holds the Honda Endowed Chair and Professor of Integrated Systems Engineering at Ohio State University. Additionally he is Professor, Physical Medicine and Rehab, Professor, Orthopedics, and Professor of Neurological Surgery at Ohio State University. Dr. Marras is the Director and Scientific Director of the Spine Research Institute. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He specializes in studies concerning spine disorder causation and prevention, evaluations, and treatment.

Ed Moses, physics and astronomy, is president of the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization, where he guides development of the billion-dollar, 25-meter Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), which – when it comes online at Las Campanas Observatory in the Chilean Andes during the early 2020s – will be larger than any telescope in existence today. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.  Moses is best known for developing and managing complex laser systems and high technology projects.

Yuri Oganessian, nuclear engineering, is professor and scientific director at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, and the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions. He has twice been named winner of the State Prize, the highest national award by the President of Russia. He has won other prestigious international competitions and is regarded as the world leader in the search for and discovery of new elements. He has discovered the heaviest elements with atomic numbers, and he has discovered nuclear reactions leading to synthesis of elements.

Robert Skelton, mechanical and aerospace engineering, is the Daniel L. Alspach Professor of Dynamic Systems and Controls and is Professor Emeritus of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, he is world renowned for his work in control systems, systems engineering design optimization, structural dynamics and design, and tensegrity structures and multi-scale Tensegrity in materials, and deployable structures. He has for many years been involved with the control of Skylab and the Hubble Telescope.

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