From University of Texas at Arlington News Center, 8 February 2019

Dr. Dereje Agonafer [MIT MLK Visiting Professor 2007-08, Mechanical Engineering], Jenkins Garrett Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington, has been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering – and is one of only two faculty at universities in Texas selected this year.

Membership in the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is among the highest professional distinctions awarded to engineers. The NAE honors professionals who have made outstanding and innovative contributions to the research, practice, education, or advancement of engineering.

Agonafer’s election highlights his distinguished leadership in engineering, including his focus on computer-aided electro/thermo/mechanical design and modeling of electronic equipment. He is one of 86 members and 18 foreign members to join the academy in 2019.

Agonafer is site director for the Industry University Collaborative Research Consortium, a National Science Foundation consortium aimed on finding clean solutions to pressing energy problems. UTA is collaborating with Binghamton University and Villanova University, along with 15 companies, including Facebook, Microsoft, General Electric, Verizon, Comcast and CommScope. Launched in 2011, the project was recently awarded Phase II funding to continue through 2022.

In addition to his membership in the National Academy of Engineering, Agonafer is also a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Agonafer holds nine U.S. patents and six foreign patents. He has published more than 230 papers, two books and several book chapters. His former students work in some of the world’s leading global companies, including Facebook and Intel.

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