Ohio State University Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering professor Judit E. Puskas has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Class of 2023 in recognition of sustained excellence in innovation and education.
Puskas joins Alan Luo and Longya Xu from Ohio State in the 2023 class and are among 124 new NAE members, bringing the total U.S. membership to 2,420 and the number of international members to 319.
The U.S. National Academy of Engineering is a private, independent, nonprofit institution that provides engineering leadership in service to the nation. Its mission is to advance the welfare and prosperity of the nation by providing independent advice on matters involving engineering and technology, and by promoting a vibrant engineering profession and public appreciation of engineering.
“One newly elected NAE member is a big deal for any institution, but three in one year is exceptional,” said College of Engineering Dean Ayanna Howard. “I am delighted for Judit, Alan and Longya, but I’m even happier for our students, faculty and staff that have had the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with these exemplary engineers. They certainly won’t be the last.”
Puskas was elected “for coinventing an FDA-approved, life-saving coronary stent coating, and fundamental research and scale-up of polymerization processes.”
Puskas joined Ohio State in 2019, continuing a prolific industry and academic career in rubber technology, developing polymers with multiple applications. She is perhaps known best as co-inventor of the polymer used to coat the Taxus coronary stent licensed by Boston Scientific, which has been implanted in more than 10 million patients. She was the first woman to win the Charles Goodyear Medal, the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society's Rubber Division, and was elected to the National Academy of Inventors in 2020. A Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, she has over 400 technical publications and 35 issued patents.
Individuals in the newly elected class will be formally inducted during the NAE's annual meeting on Oct. 1, 2023.
Read the full article here to learn about the rest of the members of the Ohio State 2023 National Academy of Engineering Class.