Brown Engineering Alumni H. David Hibbitt Ph.D. ’72 and Enrique Lavernia ’82 Elected to the National Academy of Engineering

Brown University engineering alumni H. David Hibbitt Ph.D. ’72 and Enrique Lavernia ’82 have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Hibbitt, founder and retired chairman of ABAQUS Inc. (now known as Dassault Systèmes Simulia Corp.), was honored for creation and development of the ABAQUS finite element code for nonlinear structural analysis and its worldwide dissemination. He is one of 11 new foreign associates elected.

“I have been truly fortunate in having so many talented colleagues who chose to join our efforts, so I view this award as coming to me as the representative of that team,” said Hibbitt. “It is a great honor for us all. It is the outcome of work by an amazingly strong team of applied mechanics people, mathematicians, and computer scientists, all working together to deliver the Abaqus software suite. Several others in that team also came from Brown Engineering, including Paul Sorensen ’71 Sc.M.’75 Ph.D.’77, Joop Nagtegaal Ph.D. ’73, David Berman ’84 Sc.M.’85, Mark Bohm ’84, and David Reynolds Sc.M.’91 Ph.D.’93.”

Lavernia, Dean of the College of Engineering, and Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at University of California, Davis, was recognized for contributions to novel processing of metals and alloys, and for leadership in engineering education. He is one of 69 new members elected. The total U.S. membership is now 2,250 members and the number of foreign associates is now 211.

“This is a spectacular achievement for David and Enrique and we are extremely happy for them,” said Dean Larry Larson. “To have two alumni elected in one year from Brown is a wonderful accomplishment.”

Maurice Herlihy, professor of computer science at Brown, was also elected to the NAE this year for concurrent computing techniques for linearizability, non-blocking data structures, and transactional memory.

Michael Ortiz, who was a professor at Brown from 1984-1995 and is now a professor at California Institute of Technology, was elected for contributions to computational mechanics to advance the underpinnings of solid mechanics.

Election to the National Academy of Engineering 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, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature,” and to the “pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.”

Hibbitt and Lavernia join an exclusive group of 12 Brown engineering alumni already in the NAE that includes: Walter J. Weber ’56 (elected 1985), William F. Allen ’41 (elected 1986), T. Dixon Dudderar PhD’66 (elected 1992), Wai-Fah Chen PhD’66 (elected 1995), George J. Dvorak (elected 1995), Marc S. Newkirk ’69 (elected 1997), Hratch Gregory Semerjian Sc.M.’68 Ph.D.’72 (elected 2000), Chain T. Liu Sc.M.’64 Ph.D.’67 (elected 2004), Robert M. McMeeking PhD’75 (elected 2005), Jean-Yves Parlange Ph.D.’62 (elected 2006), Alan I. Taub ’76 (elected 2006), and Ares J. Rosakis ScM’80 PhD’83 (elected 2011).

Ten current or former Brown engineering faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, including Huajian Gao, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Engineering, who was elected in 2012. Other members include: Vice President for Research and Otis Randall University Professor Clyde Briant (elected 2010), Subra Suresh (elected 2002), Professor Emeritus Alan Needleman (elected 2000), Professor Emeritus L.B. Freund (elected 1994), Rush C. Hawkins University Professor Rod Clifton (elected 1989), Joseph Kestin (elected 1982), James R. Rice (elected 1980), Daniel C. Drucker (elected 1967), and William Prager (elected 1965).

Brown Professor Huajian Gao Elected to the National Academy of Engineering

Huajian Gao, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Engineering at Brown University, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Gao, honored for contributions to micromechanics of thin films and hierarchically structured materials, is one of 66 new members and 10 foreign associates elected, and is one of just 2,254 U.S. members and 206 foreign associates in the NAE.

Election to the National Academy of Engineering 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, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature," and to the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."

Professor Gao becomes the fifth member of the Brown School of Engineering faculty to be elected to the National Academy of Engineering. He joins Rush C. Hawkins University Professor Rod Clifton (elected 1989), Professor Emeritus L.B. Freund (elected 1994), Professor Emeritus Alan Needleman (elected 2000), and Vice President for Research and Otis Randall University Professor Clyde Briant (elected 2010).

"This is a spectacular professional achievement for Professor Gao and we are extremely happy for him," said Dean Larry Larson. "To have five members of the National Academy within a faculty of 40 also underscores the strength and level of accomplishment of our faculty here at Brown.”

Professor Gao received his B.S. degree from Xian Jiaotong University of China in 1982, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in engineering science from Harvard University in 1984 and 1988, respectively. He served on the faculty of Stanford University between 1988 and 2002, where he was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 1994 and to full professor in 2000. He was appointed as Director and Professor at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart, Germany between 2001 and 2006. He joined Brown University in 2006. Professor Gao has a background in applied mechanics and engineering science. He has more than 25 years of research experience and more than 300 publications to his credit.

Professor Gao’s research group is generally interested in understanding the basic principles that control mechanical properties and behaviors of both engineering and biological systems. His current research includes studies of how metallic and semiconductor materials behave in thin film and nanocrystalline forms, and how biological materials such as bones, geckos, and cells achieve their mechanical robustness through structural hierarchy.

Clyde Briant elected to the National Academy of Engineering

Congratulations to Clyde Briant on his election to the National Academy of Engineering.

Election to the National Academy of Engineering 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, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature," and to the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."

CLYDE LEONARD BRIANT, Otis E. Randall University Professor and vice president for research, Brown University, Providence, R.I. For elucidation of microstructural effects on high-temperature mechanical performance of metals.

See NAE Press Release.