DEPS Committee

The Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences (DEPS) is concerned with expanding basic knowledge in the physical sciences and engineering and applying these disciplines in the service of humankind. In support of these goals the Division Committee will articulate intellectual and strategic goals for the Division, with particular attention to the promotion of intra- and inter-division collaborations to capture interdisciplinary opportunities that are emerging or likely to emerge; ensure the quality of the Division’s work, perform strategic reviews of the Division’s boards, and approve board members; and provide direction on emerging issues, and review the Division’s structure and operational ability to pursue these issues. The Committee will also annually review the Division’s activities, reports, successes, and challenges, and articulate its vision of how the Division must evolve in the future.

Dr. Cherry Murray, Chair
Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Harvard University

Dr. Denis A. Cortese
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mayo Clinic

Dr. Ruth David
President and Chief Executive Officer
ANSER

Delores M. Etter
TI Distinguished Chair in Engineering Education
Director of the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education
Southern Methodist University School of Engineering

Katharine Frase
Vice President, Technical and Business Strategy
IBM Software Group

Wendy Freedman
Crawford H. Greenewalt Chair
Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington

Dr. William Happer
Department of Physics
Princeton University

M. Granger Morgan
Lord Chair Professor, Engineering
Department Head of Engineering and Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University

Mr. Cordell Reed
Retired Senior Vice President
Commonwealth Edison Company

Dr. Alton D. Romig, Jr.
Deputy Director for Integrated Technology Programs
Sandia National Laboratories

Ronald Sega
Vice President for Applied Research
Colorado State University Research Foundation

Margaret Wright
Silver Professor of Computer Science
Chair, Department of Computer Science
New York University

Peter Blair
Executive Director
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

George Bugliarello,ex officio
Governing Board Liaison to DEPS
Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Engineering
Chancellor, Polytechnic University

DEPS Committee Members
Bio-sketches
 

Dr. Cherry A. Murray (NAS/NAE) Chair, is currently the dean of Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied science (SEAS) and holds the John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professorship in Engineering and Applied Sciences.  Prior to joining Harvard University, Dr. Murray was principal associate of Science and Technology at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Her concentration is in the management of basic and applied research in physical sciences and high technology. Also, basic and applied research in the area of experimental condensed matter physics in a number of cross-disciplinary fields including optical phenomena at surfaces and in semiconductors, complex fluids, disordered systems and systems of lower spatial dimensions, clusters and nanostructures, non-equilibrium phenomena, and phase transitions.  Dr. Murray did her graduate and undergraduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Dr. Denis A. Cortese (IOM) is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mayo Clinic and a specialist in pulmonary medicine. He earned an A.B. in Biology from Franklin and Marshall College and his M.D. from Temple University Medical School. Dr. Cortese completed his residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Thoracic Diseases at the Mayo Clinic. He is involved in bronchoscopic detection, localization, and treatment of early stage lung cancer, as well as bronchoscopic treatment of lung cancer obstructing the main airways.

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Dr. Ruth David, (NAE) is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Analytic Services Inc. (ANSER). Previously Dr. David was the Deputy Director for Science and Technology at the Central Intelligence Agency. She also served in many capacities at Sandia National Laboratories where she was Director of Advanced Information Technologies when she left. Dr. David has a B.S.E.E. from Wichita State University, and a Masters and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

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Delores M. Etter (NAE) is the TI Distinguished Chair in Engineering Education and Director of the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education at the Southern Methodist University (SMU) School of Engineering. Prior to joining the SMU School of Engineering, Dr. Etter served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition.  Prior to her service as the Navy’s Chief Acquisition Executive, Dr. Etter was a member of the Electrical Engineering faculty at the United States Naval Academy. She was also the first recipient of the Office of Naval Research Distinguished Chair in Science and Technology. Dr. Etter also served as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology. Dr. Etter was the Principal U.S. representative to the NATO Research and Technology Board. Her academic interests were in digital signal processing and communications. Her research interests included biometric signal processing, with an emphasis on identification using iris recognition. Dr. Etter received B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics from Wright State University and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of New Mexico.

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Katharine Frase (NAE) is Vice President, Technical and Business Strategy, IBM Software Group. Her team is responsible for technical strategy, business strategy, business development, standards, competitive analysis and the application of advanced technologies across SWG. Prior to this role, she was VP, Technology (IBM), in which she was responsible for technical resources, recognition, assessment and strategy across IBM. In 2006, in recognition of her distinguished contributions to engineering, she was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Earlier IBM responsibilities included management of process development, design/modeling methodology and production for chip carrier assembly and final test for IBM silicon products. Her research interests include mechanical properties/structural interactions in composites, high temperature superconductors, solid electrolytes (fast ionic conductors), ceramic powder synthetic methods, and ceramic packaging. She chaired an IBM/Academy workshop on Lead Solder reduction actions, and in 1998 served as the Packaging Assurance manager for IBM worldwide. Dr. Frase received an A.B. in chemistry from Bryn Mawr College and a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Frase is an ex officio member of the NRC’s Board on Assessment of National Institute of Standards and Technology Programs and is currently the chair of the Panel of Materials Science and Engineering.

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Wendy Freedman (NAS) is the Crawford H. Greenewalt Chair of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. She is also the chair of the board of directors of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) project. Previously, she was a Faculty Member and a Carnegie Fellow at the Observatories. Dr. Freedman was also a Principal Investigator of the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale, a project to measure the current expansion rate of the Universe. Her principal research interests are in observational cosmology. Her current research interests are directed at measuring the past expansion rate of the Universe, and in characterizing the nature of dark energy, which is causing the universe to speed up its expansion. She is a member the American Philosophical Society was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was awarded the American Association of Physic's Teachers Klopsteg Award and the Magellanic Prize of the American Philosophical Society. Dr. Freedman received a B. Sc., M.Sc. Ph.D. degrees in Astronomy from the University of Toronto.

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Dr. William Happer (NAS) is a professor in the Department of Physics at Princeton University and a prominent technical consultant to industry and government. He is a specialist in laser spectroscopy, optical pumping, radio frequency spectroscopy, and magnetic resonance. He served as director of the Columbia Radiation Laboratory. Dr. Happer spent the spring of 1976 at the Max Planck Institute for Laser Research at Garching, West Germany, with the support of an Alexander von Humboldt Award. He has maintained an interest in applied physics and the impact of science and technology on public policy. He has served as a consultant to numerous firms and government agencies, including Singer-Kearfott, Litton Industries, Bendix, RCA, the Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Naval Air Development Center, the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and the Department of Energy. Dr. Happer has a B.S. in Physics from the University of North Carolina and a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University.

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M. Granger Morgan (NAS) is the Lord Chair Professor in Engineering and the Department Head of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Much of his work has involved the development and demonstration of methods to characterize and analyze uncertainty in Quantitative Risk and Policy Analysis.  His work with the CMU Center for the Integrated Study of the Human Dimensions of Global Change he has addressed issues in the integrated assessment of climate change impacts and policy.  He is also conducting research at the CMU Electricity Industry Center in areas of distributed resources, carbon management, and basic technology research to support clean energy.  He has worked extensively in risk analysis, communication and ranking.  Dr. Morgan received a B.S. in physics from Harvard University, an M.S. in Astronomy and Space Science, and Ph.D. in Applied Physics and Information Science from the University of California, San Diego.

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Mr. Cordell Reed (NAE) is retired Senior Vice President of Commonwealth Edison where he was responsible for the design, operation and management of the company's fossil and nuclear generating stations. He served as Chief Nuclear Officer for 13 years and was also responsible for the purchase of fossil and nuclear fuel. Mr. Reed has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois.

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Dr. Alton D. Romig, Jr. (NAE) is currently Executive Vice President, Deputy Laboratories and Chief Operating Officer at Sandia National Laboratories.  His responsibilities include the leadership and management of development and engineering activities that provide science, technology, systems, and expertise in support of US Programs in military technology; proliferation prevention; technology assessments; counterintelligence; energy science, resources, conservation, and infrastructure assurance; and homeland security. The portfolio includes support to the US Departments of Energy, Defense, State, Justice, Homeland Security, the Intelligence Community, and the Nuclear Regulatory Agency. The work includes international engagement such as through the International Atomic Energy Agency.  Dr. Romig has his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Lehigh University.

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Ronald M. Sega is Vice President for Applied Research with the Colorado State University Research Foundation (CSURF). He also serves as professor of systems engineering in Colorado State University’s College of Engineering. In addition, he serves as special assistant to the university’s vice president for Research. He previously served as Under Secretary for the U.S. Air Force. Designated the Department of Defense Executive Agent for Space, Sega developed, coordinated and integrated plans and programs for space systems and the acquisition of all DoD space major defense acquisition programs. Dr. Sega was appointed as the director of Defense Research and Engineering, serving as chief technical officer for the department.  As a NASA astronaut, Dr. Sega is a two-time shuttle veteran. He joined NASA in 1990, making his first shuttle flight in 1994 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. He was NASA's Director of Operations, Russia, responsible for managing NASA activities supporting astronaut and cosmonaut training for flight on the Russian Mir space station. He completed his second shuttle flight in 1996 as payload commander for the third shuttle/Mir docking mission aboard Atlantis, completing his astronaut tenure with 420 hours in space. Dr. Sega received a B.S. degree in mathematics and physics from the U.S. Air Force Academy, an M.S. in Physics from Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering the University of Colorado.

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Margaret Wright (NAS/NAE) is Silver Professor of Computer Science and Chair of the Department of Computer Science at New York University. Her research interests include optimization, linear algebra, scientific computing, and scientific and engineering applications. She has served as the chair of the Advisory Committee for the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate at the National Science Foundation and has served on several committees for the National Council, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy. She is a member of the Scientifica Council of the Mathematical Sciences Institute (MSRI), Berkeley, California. She is the co-author of two books, Practical Optimization and Numerical Linear Algebra, and Optimization, and the author or co-author of more than 40 papers in refereed journals. Dr. Wright received an M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science, and a B.S. in Mathematics, from Stanford University.

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Executive Director

Peter Blair is Executive Director of the Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences of The National Academies’ National Research Council (NRC). He was formerly Executive Director of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, and publisher of American Scientist (1996-2001). Earlier, at the former Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (1983-1996), he served as Energy Program Director and then as Assistant Director of the agency and Director of the Division on Industry, Commerce, and International Security. He received OTA’s distinguished service award in 1991. Prior to his government service he was on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania (1976-1985) and Co-Founder of Technecon Analytic Research, Inc. (1978-1985). Technecon was acquired by Reading Energy Corporation in 1985. Dr. Blair is a fellow of the AAAS and holds a B.S. in engineering from Swarthmore College, an M.S.E. in systems engineering and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in energy management and policy from the University of Pennsylvania.

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George Bugliarello (NAE) serves as the Foreign Secretary of the National Academy of Engineering and is University Professor at Polytechnic University. He served as President of Polytechnic University from 1973 to 1994, is an engineer and educator with a broad background ranging from civil engineering to computer languages, biomedical engineering, fluid mechanics and science policy. Dr. Bugliarello holds a Doctor of Science degree in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a minor from the Sloan School and was awarded several honorary degrees, as well as being honored by the Engineering News-Record as one of “Those Who Made Marks” in the construction industry in recognition of the creation of Metrotech. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Engineering Education, American Society of Civil Engineers, and a founding fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

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