Purdue News

February 15, 2006

National Academy of Engineering inducts Purdue engineering dean

Linda Katehi
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The National Academy of Engineering has inducted the Purdue University dean of engineering into its society.

Linda Katehi, the John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering, is among 76 new members and nine foreign associates inducted into the academy this year. Katehi was named the Purdue dean of engineering in January 2002.

"Election to the National Academy of Engineering is a highlight for any engineer's career, and we are proud that Linda received this honor while serving as Purdue's dean of engineering," said Provost Sally Mason. "It is an honor well deserved by Linda, and we know she will continue to contribute much to the engineering and academic community, both nationally and internationally."

Katehi will be leaving the university on April 1 to become the provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

As Purdue's dean of engineering, Katehi implemented a strategic plan and a capital campaign to support the College of Engineering. In 2004, she received the Leading Light Award for Women in High Tech from the state of Indiana.

"When I first arrived at Purdue, one of the goals in my strategic mission was to increase the number of engineering faculty we have who are also members of the National Academy of Engineering," she said. "I had no idea that I, too, would also receive such a great honor from my peers in the field of engineering."

Katehi, who is also a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue, was recognized by the National Academy of Engineering for her contributions to engineering education and her research in three-dimensional integrated electrical circuits and on-wafer circuit packaging.

Katehi, a native of Greece, earned a degree in mechanical and electrical engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in 1977. She came to the United States in 1979 to study at the University of California at Los Angeles and earned master's and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering there in 1981 and 1984, respectively.

She began her academic career in 1984 as a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Michigan, where she stayed for 18 years. Starting in 1994, she served in a succession of administrative roles in the College of Engineering, culminating with the position of associate dean for academic affairs from September 1999 through 2001.

Her honors include a Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation and a Humboldt Research Award. In 1995, she was named a fellow in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and in 2002 received the Distinguished Educator Award from the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society.

Katehi also has received five best paper awards, including the Marconi Premium Prize in 2001 from the Institute of Electronic Engineers. She holds or has applied for 19 U.S. patents and has graduated 37 doctoral students.

The National Academy of Engineering has 2,216 peer-elected members and 186 foreign associates who are among the world's most accomplished engineers in academia, business and government. Inductees are chosen for their outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contribution to the engineering literature" and to the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancement in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."

Writer: Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192, csequin@purdue.edu

Source: Linda Katehi, (765) 494-5346, katehi@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

 

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