“I’m thrilled,” said Rawn, a faculty member of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. “To join the other colleagues of mine in the department who have been made fellows is a tremendous honor.”

The Gibson Endowed Chair in Engineering has been created with the specific goal of expanding research into environmentally friendly, sustainable energy, with Stephen Paddison, professor and Ferguson Fellow in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, named as the first chair.

Townsend, the Robert M. Condra Professor of Nuclear Engineering, received the Professional Achievement Award he won in 2013 for research activities including extensive publications in radiation protection dosimetry and particle transport methods related to space radiation environments.

“We can help wallets and help profits at the same time,” said Michael Hu, a joint faculty member of the College of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and ORNL.

The project, “Storm Water Goes Green: Investigating the Benefit and Health of Urban Trees in Green Infrastructure Installations,” is a multidisciplinary effort coordinated with North Carolina State University to study the impact of trees on storm water management.

Their research has just been published in the journal Advanced Materials. Their article is available for early view at here. It will be featured on the cover. This new characterization technique applicable for advanced and natural materials will have a major immediate impact in developing super-elastic and shape memory alloys which are having notable medical applications also.

“This is a tremendous milestone for our center,” said Klaus Blache, director of the center. “Achieving fifty member companies further reinforces the center as the premier choice for knowledge and interns in the field.”

Taking all areas into account, Eastman’s support for the college will total $2 million over a five-year period.

The conference, Engineering and the Future of Humankind, was sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, known better as UNESCO; the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences; and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.