Apelian Recognized with Presidential Medal from Worcester Polytechnic Institute

March 25, 2024 - The Worcester Polytechnic Institute awarded Diran Apelian its Presidential Medal at the inauguration celebration of the Institute’s 17th president on March 22, 2024. Apelian is one of two recipients of the medal, which honors outstanding individuals whose accomplishments embody the technological humanist ideal, a notion at the heart of WPI’s approach to education.

“I am humbled by this recognition and elated by the emphasis on technological humanist, as it has been a way of life that I have strived for throughout my professional life,” said Apelian.

Apelian, a UC Irvine Distinguished Professor of materials science and engineering, is a former provost and faculty member at WPI where he founded the Metals Processing Institute. He is hailed as one of WPI’s most innovative researchers and educators. His research has helped establish mechanisms and fundamentals in metal processing and helped lay the foundations for significant industrial developments. His recent work in the development of technologies to recover and recycle materials is critically important for a sustainable future. The Presidential Medal recognizes Apelian for his leadership, innovative research and entrepreneurship in materials science and engineering.

A member of the National Academy of Engineering, European Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Inventors, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Armenian Academy of Sciences, Apelian has received numerous honors and awards, published over 700 publications and serves on several technical, corporate and editorial boards. He was recognized as WPI Innovator of the Year in 2018, and as the Samueli School’s Innovator of the Year in 2020. He received his bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from Drexel University in 1968 and his doctorate in materials science and engineering from MIT in 1972. 

– Lori Brandt