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This past February, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) elected 84 new people to its membership, bringing the total count to 2,281. Among them was UW Alumni, Deb Niemeier. Election to the NAE is among the most prestigious professional distinctions that engineers aspire to. Academy 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.”

Dr. Niemeier has served as chair of the UC Davis civil engineering department. She is a member of the UC Davis graduate faculty in the departments of Computer Science, Transportation, Technology, and Policy, Ecology, and Geography. She currently sits on the Executive Committee of the Graduate Geography Group. She also served as the Director of the John Muir Institute and Associate Vice Chancellor in the Office of Research at UC Davis. She has received a number of awards including the Aldo Leopold Leadership Award, the Chancellor’s Fellow Award, an NSF CAREER award, and UC Davis Outstanding Faculty Mentor and Faculty Adviser awards. Dr. Niemeier also recently completed a six year appointment as the Editor-in-Chief of Transportation Research, Part A, the leading international journal focused on transportation policy and practice. She was the first woman in the journal’s history to serve in this position. She received her B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Texas (1982), and her Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Washington (1994).

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) was found in 1964. It is an independent, nonprofit institution that provides engineering leadership with the mission of, “advancing the well-being of the nation by promoting a vibrant engineering profession and by marshaling the expertise and insights of eminent engineers to provide independent advice to the federal government on matters involving engineering and technology.”

The NAE has more than 2,000 peer-elected members, among whom are the world’s most accomplished senior professionals in business, academic, and government engineers. They provide the leadership and expertise for numerous projects focused on the relationships between engineering, technology, and the quality of life.

Individuals in the newly elected class will be formally inducted during a ceremony at the NAE’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 8, 2017. For more on Dr. Niemeier, visit her website, and for more on NAE, visit their website!