The National Academy of Engineering is adding Colorado State University professors Sonia Kreidenweis and Jorge Rocca as new members for 2024.
Both faculty members in the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering were announced on Tuesday by the academy. Election to the body is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.
Membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice or education.
Kreidenweis is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science. She received her B.S. in chemical engineering from Manhattan College and her M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on characterization of the physical, chemical and optical properties of atmospheric particulate matter, and the effects of atmospheric aerosols on visibility and climate. She is a former president and fellow of the American Association for Aerosol Research, a past member of the executive committee and fellow of the American Meteorological Society and a fellow of the American Geophysical Union.
Kreidenweis is also a former research associate dean and executive associate dean in the college, and former interim dean of the Graduate School.
She said she was honored to be added to the academy.
“It has been such a privilege to be a part of the vibrant CSU community – especially the Department of Atmosphere Science – that provides a supportive and interdisciplinary culture in which new ideas can take root and grow,” Kreidenweis said. “I am so grateful to the wonderful colleagues and students that I have been fortunate to work with over the years. Their energy and creativity inspire me daily and are the true drivers of our research and impact.”
Rocca is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Physics. He received his B.S. in physics from the University of Rosario and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Colorado State University. His research focuses on the physics and development of compact soft-ray lasers and their applications, the development of high-power lasers, and the study of high intensity laser-matter interactions. In all, he has published more than 300 peer-reviewed journal articles on these topics.
He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Physical Society and OPTICA – previously known as the Optical Society of America. Early in his career he was selected as a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator. He also received the Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science from the APS and the Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics.
In 2020, Rocca was the first-ever CSU faculty member to receive the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Defense to conduct basic research in ultra-high field nanophotonics.
Rocca also served as the first elected chair of LaserNetUS – a user network of many of the most powerful lasers in North America, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Rocca said he was honored by the news.
“Credit belongs to many brilliant students and colleagues in the Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics Departments – where I have appointments – and from the Department of Chemistry as well as the many other institutions and groups with whom I’ve had the fortune to collaborate with for decades,” he said. “This has allowed us to conduct innovative research in advanced lasers, ultra-intense laser matter interactions, and now fusion energy.”
National Academy of Engineering members at Colorado State
Kreidenweis and Rocca will join a handful of former CSU faculty members in the NAE. Retired and emeritus NAE faculty members connected to CSU include:
- Jack Cermak, Civil and Environmental Engineering (deceased)
- Ray Chamberlain, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Bruce Ellingwood, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Marvin Jensen, Civil and Environmental Engineering (deceased)
- Larry Roesner, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Graeme Stephens, Atmospheric Science
- Tom Vonder Haar, Atmospheric Science
College of Engineering Dean Allen Robinson said the recognition for both Kreidenweis and Rocca was well deserved.
“We are so excited for Jorge and Sonia. They are incredible scientists, educators and colleagues who come to campus every day to make the world a better place,” said Robinson. “We are over the moon they’re receiving this wonderful peer recognition.”
Provost and Executive Vice President Marion Underwood echoed those sentiments.
“I celebrate the scholarly excellence Jorge and Sonia have exhibited throughout their careers, and they are so well-deserving of this national honor,” said Underwood. “Their achievements already had earned them the title of University Distinguished Professor by their peers at CSU, and now they have been named among the world’s most accomplished engineers through their election to the National Academy of Engineering. It is their personal honor, but a point of pride for all of us at CSU.”
The newly elected class will be formally inducted during the NAE’s annual meeting in September. More information about the honor and academy can be found online.
