Four Stanford scholars elected to National Academy of Engineering

Four Stanford faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), a nonprofit organization composed of the nation’s premier engineers.

The four new Stanford members are JAMES S. HARRIS JR., DAPHNE KOLLER, NICHOLAS WILLIAM MCKEOWN, all of the School of Engineering, and MARK D. ZOBACK of the School of Earth Sciences. They are among the 68 new U.S. members elected earlier this week.

Electrical engineer Harris, the James and Ellenor Chesebrough Professor in the School of Engineering, was elected for his contributions to epitaxial growth of compound semiconductor materials and their applications.

Koller, the Rajeev Motwani Professor in Computer Science, was honored for her contributions to representation, inference and learning in probabilistic models with applications to robotics, vision and biology.

McKeown, professor of electrical engineering and of computer science, was cited for his contributions to the design, analysis and engineering of high-performance routers.

Geophysicist Zoback, the Benjamin M. Page Professor in the School of Earth Sciences, was elected for his work advancing the application of geomechanics to oil and gas production, geothermal stimulation and carbon dioxide sequestration.

Stanford ranks second among all institutions in the nation for NAE members. The latest election brings to 93 the number of Stanford faculty in the NAE. The academy, which also named nine foreign associates this week, has 2,290 total U.S. members and 202 foreign associates.

—Jamie Beckett