IIT Gandhinagar director elected member of US National Academy of Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Gandhinagar director and Padma Shri awardee Sudhir K Jain has been elected as an international member of the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE), a premier independent body of eminent engineers, business leaders and academicians from across the globe.

Presently, there are only 16 other international members from India in the US NAE, including Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, N R Narayana Murthy, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Raghunath A Mashelkar.

“Jain is among 23 international members elected in 2021 and the only current director of IITs to be ever elected to this prestigious body. He will be formally inducted during the NAE's annual meeting on October 3, 2021. The announcement was made by the US NAE on Tuesday. The organisation has 2,355 US members and 298 international members,” an official statement from the institute said.

“Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer for their outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, or education, including significant contributions to the engineering literature and for pioneering new and developing fields of technology, making significant advancements in traditional areas of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education," it said.

"Individuals can not apply for membership in the NAE. Members are elected by their peers (current NAE members) after a year-long process,” it added.

Jain, who is currently serving his third term as director of IIT, Gandhinagar, was cited by the NAE for his “leadership in earthquake engineering in developing countries.”

Jain has also served as president of the International Association for Earthquake Engineering from 2014-18 and was conferred life membership by the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE) in 2013.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2020.