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armin sorooshian
Armin Sorooshian

UA Engineer Invited to Participate in National Engineering Symposium

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UA Engineer Invited to Participate in National Engineering Symposium

June 28, 2011
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Eighty-five of the nation's brightest young engineers, including UA Engineering's Armin Sorooshian, have been selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering's 17th annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium.

The participants -- engineers aged 30 to 45 who are performing exceptional engineering research and technical work in industry, academia, and government -- were nominated by fellow engineers or organizations and chosen from approximately 315 applicants. Participation in the symposium is by invitation only.

Sorooshian, an assistant professor in the chemical and environmental engineering department, conducts research on atmospheric aerosols.

"The NAE has invited me to serve on the organizing committee for the 2012 FOE meeting, where one of the topics will be related to climate engineering," Sorooshian said. "This provides me with the great privilege to help shape the direction of the next meeting as climate engineering is related to my research interests."

In a letter to Sorooshian, NAE President Charles M. Vest spelled out the rationale behind the symposium. Sustaining and enhancing the U.S. innovation system requires government investment in education and basic research, venture capital, and entrepreneurial spirit and savvy, Vest wrote. But above all, it requires brilliant engineers who bridge traditional disciplines and who bring the latest scientific knowledge and technology to bear on important problems, develop radically new products, and improve processes and services.

"As a junior faculty member, being invited by the NAE to the US Frontiers of Engineering meeting is a very high honor and I am proud to represent the College of Engineering and more specifically the department of chemical and environmental engineering," Sorooshian said. "This meeting offers me the exciting opportunity to meet a diverse group of engineers from industry, research universities, and government laboratories to discuss the future direction of engineering in the US."

"The young engineering innovators of today are solving the grand challenges that face us in the coming century," said Vest. "We are proud that our Frontiers of Engineering program brings this diverse group of people together and gives them an opportunity to share and showcase their work."

The symposium will be held Sept. 19-21, 2011, at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., and will examine additive manufacturing, engineering sustainable buildings, neuroprosthetics, and semantic processing. Alfred Z. Spector, vice president of research and special initiatives at Google, will be a featured speaker.

Frontiers of Engineering 2011 is sponsored by Google, The Grainger Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, STEM Development Office of the Department of Defense, National Science Foundation, Microsoft Research, and Cummins Inc.

The National Academy of Engineering is an independent, nonprofit institution that advises government and the public on engineering and technology issues. Its members consist of the nation's leading engineers, who are elected by their peers for their distinguished achievements. NAE was established in 1964 and operates under the congressional charter granted to the National Academy of Sciences in 1863.