Two University of Minnesota professors elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2024
Six alumni also elected to receive the highest professional honor awarded to an engineer
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (02/07/2024)—University of Minnesota-Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering Professors Catherine French and Timothy Lodge have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). This is among the highest professional distinctions awarded to an engineer. The NAE elected only 114 new members and 21 foreign members this year. Six University of Minnesota alumni were also elected to NAE this year.
Professor Catherine E. French
Catherine E. French, a College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering, is a renowned structural engineer. She was recognized by NAE for “design, safety, and construction of structural concrete buildings and bridges.” Her research interests include the behavior of reinforced and prestressed concrete structural systems, field monitoring of structures, numerical and experimental investigations of structural systems including time-dependent and environmental effects, evaluation and repair of damaged structures, and development and application of new materials. She has served on the national concrete building code committee for nearly 30 years.
A professor at the University of Minnesota since 1984, French has received numerous awards for her research and teaching from the University and professional organizations. Among those is being named an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Distinguished Member and an American Concrete Institute Honorary Member. Since 2019, she has been a member of the University of Minnesota Academy of Distinguished Teachers.
She has mentored more than 85 graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and visiting scholars. She also has published and edited more than 175 research papers, publications and discussions.
French earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and master’s and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Professor Timothy P. Lodge
Timothy P. Lodge is a University of Minnesota Regents Professor in the Department of Chemistry and in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.. He is a renowned polymer scientist. Potential applications of his work include improved delivery of medicines within the body, viscosity modification of lubricating oils, and nanostructure templating. Lodge is honored by NAE for “contributions to the understanding of the dynamic properties of multicomponent polymers and self-assembled structures.”
A professor at the University of Minnesota since 1982, Lodge currently holds the Prager Chair in Macromolecular Science in Chemistry and is a College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Professor. From 2005-2022 he served as Director of the University of Minnesota Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), funded by the National Science Foundation.
Lodge has received numerous awards including being named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Paul Flory Education Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS). He was Editor-in-Chief of the ACS journal Macromolecules from 2001–2017, and was the founding editor of ACS Macro Letters.
A sought-after teacher and adviser, Lodge has trained more than 100 graduate students, 100 undergraduates, and 50 postdoctoral associates. He has also published more than 500 research papers.
Lodge earned his bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from Harvard, and his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering Alumni
Six University of Minnesota alumni were also elected to the NAE in 2024. They are:
Martha C. Anderson, research physical scientist, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Md., for application of thermal satellite remote sensing in hydrology. Anderson received her Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Minnesota in 1993.
Patrick R. Gruber, chief executive officer and director, Gevo Inc., Englewood, Colo., for renewable resource-based chemicals, plastics, and fuels, demonstrated by scalable, economically viable processes. Gruber received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1989.
Kei May Lau, chair professor in microelectronics thrust, School of Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, for photonics and electronics based on III-V semiconductors on silicon. Lau received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1976 and 1977 respectively.
Jeffery J. Puschell, engineer, Northrop Grumman Corp., El Segundo, Calif., for development of optical, multispectral, and hyperspectral space-based remote sensing systems for Earth observation. Puschell received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1979.
Dawn M. Tilbury, Ronald D. and Regina C. McNeil Department Chair of Robotics and professor of robotics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, for advances in manufacturing network control and human-robot interaction and for engineering leadership. Tilbury received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1989.
International members
Stephane Bancel, chief executive officer, Moderna Inc., Cambridge, Mass., for development and manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, including the COVID-19 vaccine. Bancel received his master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1995.
Individuals in the newly elected class will be formally inducted during the NAE's annual meeting on Sept. 29, 2024. More information on today’s elections, including a list of the newly elected members and foreign associates, is available on the National Academy of Engineering website.