Carnegie Mellon's David Dzombak Elected to Prestigious National Academy of Engineering

February 18, 2008

Contact: Chriss Swaney
Carnegie Mellon
(412) 268-5776

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University’s David A. Dzombak has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the highest professional distinctions an engineer can achieve.

“Dave has been a leader in fostering multidisciplinary research and educating tomorrow’s leaders,” said Pradeep K. Khosla, dean of Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering and a 2006 NAE inductee. “This outstanding recognition is a tribute to the pioneering and innovative leadership Dave brings to this college.”

Dzombak, the Walter J. Blenko Sr. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, received the prestigious recognition for novel development of models used in evaluating chemical behavior in water quality engineering and environmental remediation. 

“I am truly honored and deeply humbled to be included with such an accomplished group of engineers,” said Dzombak, who is faculty director of the university’s Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research. “I will do my best to use my participation in the NAE to serve the nation and to advance engineering.” 

Membership in the NAE honors individuals who have made important contributions to engineering theory and practice and who have demonstrated unusual accomplishments in pioneering new and developing fields of technology. This year, Dzombak joins 2,227 NAE members and 194 foreign associates in an award process that began in 1964.

The NAE shares responsibility with the National Academy of Sciences to advise the federal government on questions of policy in science and technology. Carnegie Mellon’s Dzombak is scheduled to attend a gala celebration Oct. 5, 2008, at The National Academies building at 2101 Constitution Ave. in Washington, D.C.

For more than two decades, Dzombak has conducted leading research in the areas of aquatic chemistry, water and wastewater treatment, abandoned mine drainage remediation, river and watershed restoration and hazardous waste site remediation.

He also has contributed to the expertise and professional service at the local, state and national levels. He currently serves as chair of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board’s Environmental Engineering Committee and as a member of the EPA National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology’s Environmental Technology Subcommittee. He chairs the National Research Council’s Committee on the Mississippi River and Clean Water Act. Dzombak is also an associate editor of the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Dzombak has received numerous professional honors and accolades. In 2002, he was elected a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He has also earned the Excellence in Review Award from Environmental Science and Technology, the Professional Research Award from the Pennsylvania Water Environment Association, the Jack Edward McKee Medal from the Water Environment Federation, the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program Fellowship from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Harrison Prescott Eddy Medal from the Water Environment Federation and a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award.

Dzombak earned his Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1986. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil and environmental engineering from Carnegie Mellon. He also has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., where he was enrolled in a 3-2 liberal arts/engineering program. He is a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania and a diplomate of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers.

About Carnegie Mellon: Carnegie Mellon is a private research university with a distinctive mix of programs in engineering, computer science, robotics, business, public policy, fine arts and the humanities. More than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students receive an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation. A small student-to-faculty ratio provides an opportunity for close interaction between students and professors. While technology is pervasive on its 144-acre Pittsburgh campus, Carnegie Mellon is also distinctive among leading research universities for the world-renowned programs in its College of Fine Arts. A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Silicon Valley, Calif., and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia and Europe. For more, see www.cmu.edu.