Irwin Elected Member Of National Academy Of Engineering
February 26, 2003
University Park, PA–Mary Jane Irwin, distinguished professor of computer science and engineering at Penn State, was named a member of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering (NAE), an elite group of senior professionals in academia, business, and government who are among the world’s most accomplished engineers.
The more than 2,000 peer-elected members and foreign associates provide leadership and expertise for numerous projects focused on the relationship between engineering, technology, and quality of life. Election to the NAE is considered the highest professional honor an engineer can attain.
Irwin is the 10th Penn State faculty member to be elected to the NAE. Of the ten, seven are from the College of Engineering.
AE cited Irwin for her contributions to VLSI architecture and automated design, which have helped shape the field of modern computer architecture.
In addition to her numerous honors and awards, Irwin is among a small number of computer scientists to be honored as a Fellow of both the Association of Computing Machinery and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. She also holds leadership positions in a number of national professional societies.
Irwin has been extremely active in the University community, including serving on the Commission for Women, the Women in Engineering Program Advisory Board and the School of Information Sciences and Technology Implementation Committee.
Irwin has been a member of the Penn State faculty since 1977. She also served as head of the computer science department from 1991 to 1993. She holds a B.S. in mathematics from Memphis State University, and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.
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