TAMEST Welcomes Ten Texans Elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE)
TAMEST welcomes nine new members and congratulates one current member on their election to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2026. Of the 10 new NAE members from Texas, one is a current TAMEST member and Hill Prize recipient, and one is a past TAMEST protégé. Their election brings the current TAMEST membership to 373.
Additionally, 2010 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Engineering Recipient Douglas C. Burger, Ph.D. (NAE) was also elected. Dr. Burger is a former professor at The University of Texas at Austin and currently works for Microsoft Research in Washington State.
Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions afforded to an engineer. This year, the NAE elected 130 new members and 28 international members, which brought the total U.S. membership to 2,534 and the number of international members to 356.
TAMEST will welcome these and other new members at the opening reception of the TAMEST 2027 Annual Conference: Frontiers of Discovery on February 1, 2027, in Houston, Texas.
Learn more about our new members:
Thomas Alwin Blasingame, Ph.D. (NAE), Professor and Department Head, Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University
For developing rate-transient tools to diagnose and predict hydrocarbon production.
John-Paul Clarke, Sc.D. (NAE), Ernest Cockrell Jr. Memorial Chair, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, The University of Texas at Austin
For contributions to the efficiency and environmental performance of civil aviation and the development of continuous descent approaches.
Bruce Edward Gnade, Ph.D. (NAE), Emeritus Professor, The University of Texas at Dallas*
For contributions to advancement of electronic materials and semiconductor device technologies.
*Past TAMEST Protégé
Teresa Plumley Karjala, Ph.D. (NAE), Senior Research and Development Fellow, Packaging, Specialty Plastics, and Hydrocarbons, Dow Inc.
For leadership in innovation in the field of polyolefin product development, production and commercialization.
Jitendra Kikani, Ph.D. (NAE), Vice President, Subsurface, Chevron
For advancing hydrocarbon reservoir management through contributions to reservoir surveillance and reservoir engineering.
Kenneth L. McMillan, Ph.D. (NAE), Professor and Admiral B.R. Inman Centennial Chair, The University of Texas at Austin
For contributions to the formal verification of hardware and software.
Walden C. Rhines, Ph.D. (NAE), Chief Executive Officer, Silvaco Group Inc.
For co-invention of a blue-light-emitting diode and leadership in the semiconductor industry.
Venkat Selvamanickam, Ph.D. (NAE), Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Houston
For contributions to industrial-scale advanced manufacturing processes for high-temperature superconductor wires for electric power applications, and their commercialization.
Mark Waggoner (NAE), Managing Principal, Walter P. Moore & Associates, Inc.
For achievements in the design and construction of long-span structures.
Karen Lynn Wooley, Ph.D. (NAE, NAS), University Distinguished Professor and W.T. Doherty-Welch Chair, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University*
For discovering sustainable macromolecules and assemblies to improve the use and impact of plastics on society and the environment.
*2026 Hill Prize Recipient in Physical Sciences, Current NAS Member, 2027 O’Donnell Awards Committee Member
