IBM today announced that four of its leading technologists have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) -- one of the highest professional distinctions that can be awarded to an engineer. IBM engineers Irene Greif, Laura M. Haas, William P. Pulleyblank and Mark N. Wegman are among the academy's 68 new members which NAE President Charles M. Vest announced earlier this week.

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Academy membership honors those who have made contributions to "engineering research, practice or education" or have pioneered "new and developing fields of technology -- making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering -- or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education" according to the election criteria. Thirty-seven IBM employees are NAE members, making IBM one of the most represented technology companies amongst the organization's membership.

The four engineers elected have made important contributions to both IBM and the industry:

Irene Greif, IBM Fellow and Director, Social Software Laboratory, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Cambridge, Mass., is being honored for founding the field of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, and for leading research teams to shape and commercialize the field;

Laura M. Haas, IBM Fellow and director of computer science, IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, Calif., has been elected for innovations in the design and implementation of systems for information integration;

William R. Pulleyblank, vice president, Center for Business Optimization, IBM Business Consulting Services, Somers, N.Y., for contributions to the theory and methods of optimization and leadership in their application to business problems; and

Mark N. Wegman, IBM Fellow and head of computer science, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Hawthorne, N.Y., for contributions to computer algorithms and complier optimization that have influenced many areas of computer science theory and practice.

This latest recognition adds to IBM's list of prestigious technical honors, which includes five Nobel Laureates, nine National Medals of Technology, five National Medals of Science, six Turing Awards and 10 inductees into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Irene Greif, who resides in Newton Centre, MA, earned a bachelor's of science degree in mathematics, as well as a master's and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science -- all from MIT. Laura Haas, who resides in San Jose, CA, received a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, and a bachelor's degree from Harvard University. William Pulleyblank, who lives in Croton-on-Hudson NY, earned bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from the University of Calgary, and a Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo. Mark Wegman, who lives in Ossining, NY, received a bachelor's of arts degree from New York University and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

More information about IBM's honor will be included on the IBM Research blog at http://ibmresearchnews.blogspot.com/.

  About IBM Research
  For more information about IBM Research, visit www.research.ibm.com.

  About the National Academy of Engineering
  For more information about NAE, visit http://www.nae.edu/.



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SOURCE: IBM