Rupert Selected for NAE Symposium
July 5, 2017 - A Samueli School professor is one of 83 young engineers nationwide, aged 30-45, selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering’s 23rd annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium. Timothy Rupert, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, was recognized for his exceptional research and technical accomplishments, and will join the other participants – from industry, academia and government – for the 2-1/2 day event to be held in September in East Hartford, Conn.
“The Frontiers of Engineering program brings together a particularly talented group of young engineers whose early careers span different technical areas, perspectives and experiences,” said NAE President C. D. Mote, Jr. “But when they come together in this program, their mutual excitement is palpable, and a process of creating long-term benefits to society is often initiated.”
Rupert, whose research involves engineering better metallic materials at the nanoscale, has amassed several honors since joining the UC Irvine faculty in 2011. He won a 2013 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, a 2015 U.S. Department of Energy Early Career Research Program grant and a Young Investigator award from the Department of Defense’s Army Research Office in 2016.
"I was extremely honored to be selected for the Frontiers of Engineering meeting, where I will get to interact with a diverse collection of young scientists and engineers,” Rupert said. “ I hope to develop a new perspective on the important issues society will face in the coming years and work with these new colleagues to come up with creative strategies for moving forward."
The USFOE symposium will cover cutting-edge developments in four areas: mega-tall buildings, complexity of the brain, energy strategies and self-teaching machines. United Technologies Research Center will host the symposium, and sponsors include The Grainger Foundation, Microsoft Research, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Science Foundation and Cummins.
The NAE, part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, works to advance the well-being of the U.S. by promoting engineering and engaging the country’s distinguished engineers to provide expertise and independent insight to the federal government.
- Anna Lynn Spitzer