Alum and Faculty Join NAE
Erroll Davis (ECE '65), Marija Ilic, and Zoltan Cendes have recently been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.
They are among the 106 new members and 23 new international members of the NAE Class of 2021. The recipients now join an elite group of more than 60 members of the extended CMU community who have been honored with membership in the NAE, an organization that promotes the technological welfare of the nation by marshaling the knowledge and insights of eminent members of the engineering profession.
Erroll Davis earned a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from CMU in 1965 and an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago in 1967. He joined the CMU Board of Trustees in 1989 and served as its Chair from 2000 to 2004. Erroll and his wife Elaine are longtime supporters of CMU, establishing an endowed scholarship last year.
Marija Illic, professor emerita of electrical and computer engineering, has been elected “for contributions to electric power system analysis and control.” She is currently a Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society. Her main interest is in the systems aspects of operations, planning, and economics of the electric power industry.
Zoltan Cendes, adjunct professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been elected "for contributions to theory, development, and commercialization of electromagnetics simulation software.” He was the founder of the Ansoft Corporation that was acquired by ANSYS in 2008.
NAE membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature" and to "the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."