Two ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder faculty members, a former faculty member and a distinguished alumnus are among 128 new members elected to the National Academy of Engineering for 2025. 

According to 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 in at least one of the following categories: 'engineering practice, research, or education,' 'pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or development/implementation of innovative approaches to engineering education' or 'engineering leadership of one or more major endeavors.'"

The four will be formally inducted during the NAE's Annual Meeting in October. 

Scott Diddams

For contributions to optical frequency combs and their applications

Electrical engineer and physicist Scott Diddams holds the Robert H. Davis Endowed Chair. He carries out experimental research in the fields of precision spectroscopy and quantum metrology, nonlinear optics, microwave photonics and ultrafast lasers. Diddams earned his PhD degree from the University of New Mexico and previously served as a research physicist, group leader and fellow the National Institute of Standards and Technology. In 2022, he joined the ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder faculty, where he is also the faculty director of the Quantum Engineering Initiative in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. As a postdoc, Diddams built the first optical frequency combs in the lab of Nobel Prize laureate John Hall, and throughout his career, he has pioneered the use of these powerful tools for optical clocks, tests of fundamental physics, novel spectroscopy and astronomy. 

Related reading: 

• ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder wins $20M to lead National Quantum Nanofab facility
• Quantum engineers ‘squeeze’ laser frequency combs to make more sensitive gas sensors

Hanspeter Schaub

For contributions to the control of satellite formations and relative orientations utilizing natural forces, including the use of electrostatics

A distinguished professor and chair of the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder, Hanspeter Schaub has made pioneering research advances in spacecraft formation flying, space debris mitigation, attitude dynamics, autonomous spacecraft tasking and charged astrodynamics. His work has been instrumental in high-profile space projects, including the development of key components for the UAE Hope mission to Mars and the creation of the widely used for spacecraft mission simulation. He has been recognized multiple times for excellence in research and education, including the 2024 American Astronautical Society for transformational research. He is a Fellow of both AIAA and AAS. Schaub has been a member of the ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder aerospace faculty since 2007 and holds a bachelor's, master's and PhD in aerospace engineering, all from Texas A&M University.

Related reading: 

• Schaub one of nine new ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Distinguished Professors
• ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder, industry partner on space docking and satellite AI research

Dan Frangopol

For contributions to life-cycle civil engineering and leadership in its global development and adoption

Dan Frangopol is a distinguished ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder professor emeritus with a significant career in the university’s Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering. He joined ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder’s faculty as an associate professor in March. He was promoted to full professor in 1988 and became an emeritus professor in 2006. Renowned as an expert in structural reliability, optimization and life-cycle engineering, Frangopol earned the title "Father of Life-Cycle Analysis" from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). In November 2023, the ASCE board of directors established the  in honor of Frangopol. Frangopol, currently a professor at Lehigh University, holds Lehigh’s inaugural . Frangopol received his diploma in engineering from the Institute of Civil Engineering, Bucharest, Romania, in 1969 and his doctorate of applied sciences from the University of Liège, Belgium, in 1976. 

Related reading: 

• Civil engineering society establishes medal to honor Frangopol

Charles W. Hull

For the invention of 3D printing and the subsequent development of the additive manufacturing industry

After Chuck Hull (EngPhys'61) completed his degree, he worked with a DuPont subsidiary before going on to invent the solid imaging process known as stereolithography. This became the basis of the first commercial 3D printing technology, which spurred the dawning of a dynamic industry in the United States. Upon securing a stereolithography patent in 1986, Hull then founded 3D Systems Corp. Hull initiated the 3D printing industry and remains involved in the corporation’s day-to-day operations through a range of innovative applications, including state-of-the art production of 3D printers to the first home-certified 3D printer, the award-winning Cube. A member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Hull is credited as the inventor on more than 90 U.S. patents in the field of ion optics and 3D printing. As a strong advocate for education and training of youth in all aspects of this rapidly growing technology, Hull received an honorary degree from the University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Board of Regents in 2016.

Related reading: 

• ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder alum’s invention of 3D printing recognized by President Biden

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Kristina M. Johnson, who served as a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder from 1985 to 1999, has been awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Joe Biden.

At a ceremony held in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 3, Johnson and eight others received the nation’s highest honor recognizing exemplary achievement and leadership in science and technology.

Johnson distinguished herself through groundbreaking research in optoelectronics, photonics, and nanotechnology that led to 46 U.S. patents. Her innovations have contributed to advancements in the sustainable energy, manufacturing, quantum computing, and medical fields.

An engineer who grew up in Denver’s entrepreneurial environment, Johnson co-founded ColorLink, which focused on innovations in microdisplays and color polarizing technology. She was also the chief executive officer of Cube Hydro Partners, LLC, a clean energy company and a joint venture between a company she founded, Enduring Hydro, and a private equity firm.

Johnson’s career has included leading the National Science Foundation-funded Engineering Research Center for Optoelectronic Computing Systems at ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder and ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ State University. She also served as undersecretary of energy at the U.S. Department of Energy during the Obama administration.

Johnson was the president of Ohio State University from 2020 to 2023. From 2017 to 2020, she was chancellor of the State University of New York. She’s been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Women’s Hall of Fame.

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The national awards recognize and support outstanding grad students from across the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees.

Awardees receive a $37,000 annual stipend and cost of education allowance for the next three years as well as professional development opportunities.

ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder is in the top universities 15 nationally for the NSF fellowship recipients for 2024, with 27 awardees across all majors. ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Engineering also has a strong track record with winning the fellowships â€” 28 students received GRFP awards in 2023,23 students received them in 2022, and 26 students received them in 2021.

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