National recognition for research and faculty excellence
CU Engineering faculty and researchers are nationally recognized for excellence in research, scholarship and innovation, earning prestigious honors from the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Inventors. These awards affirm the college’s leadership in high-impact, interdisciplinary work, spanning early-career breakthroughs to lifetime achievements, and reflect faculty contributions in areas from quantum technologies and biomedical systems to autonomous systems, climate resilience, sustainable infrastructure, advanced materials and aerospace.
Each of the awards below reflects a distinct type of recognition, acknowledging a pivotal discovery, long-term leadership or innovation with broad societal benefit. Together, they highlight the depth of CU Engineering’s expertise and the college’s enduring commitment to excellence in research, education and impact.
Recognizing the next generation of teacher-scholars
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award is one of the NSF’s most prestigious honors, supporting early-career faculty who exemplify the teacher-scholar model through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of both. CU Boulder faculty have received more than 100 CAREER awards, reflecting our strong foundation in cultivating rising leaders in research and education.
In 2024, four faculty members received this recognition:
- R. Kōnane Bay, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, is recognized for research on novel polymer fabrication methods with potential applications in sustainability and medicine.
- Laurel Hind, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Program, is honored for advancing understanding of immune responses to improve treatments for infection and inflammation.
- Tamara Lehman, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, is awarded for work on designing hardware systems resilient to microarchitectural security threats.
- Zachary Sunberg, assistant professor in Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences, is recognized for developing decision-making algorithms to improve safety and efficiency in autonomous systems.
Recognizing transformative contributions to engineering and society
Election to the National Academy of Engineering is one of the highest professional honors accorded to engineers, recognizing those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice or education. In 2025, four individuals with ties to CU Boulder were added to the NAE, underscoring the university's impact on engineering:
- Scott Diddams, Robert H. Davis Endowed Chair and professor of electrical engineering and physics, is recognized for his contributions to optical frequency combs and their applications.
- Hanspeter Schaub, distinguished professor and department chair, Schaden Leadership Chair, Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences, is recognized for contributions to the control of satellite formations and relative orientations utilizing natural forces, including the use of electrostatics.
- Dan Frangopol, distinguished professor emeritus with a significant career in the university’s Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, is honored for his work in uncertainty quantification in computational science and engineering.
- Charles W. Hull, who earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering physics in 1961 and an honorary doctorate in 2016, is recognized for the invention of 3D printing and the subsequent development of the additive manufacturing industry.
Advancing innovation with societal and economic impact
The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) recognizes academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society. CU Boulder proudly acknowledges its faculty who have been inducted as NAI Fellows, reflecting the university's strong culture of innovation and technology transfer. CU Engineering awardees, include:
Senior Members
Jerome Fox, associate professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Biomedical Engineering Program; founder and CEO of Think Bioscience
Mark Rentschler, professor, Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering; CU Boulder Advanced Medical Technologies Laboratory; co-founder and CEO of Aspero Medical
Greg Rieker, professor and provost endowed chair, Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering; Precision Laser Diagnostics Laboratory for Energy and the Environment; CUbit Quantum Initiative; Q-SEnSE Institute; co-founder and CTO of LongPath Technologies
Jianliang Xiao, associate professor, Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering
NAI Fellows
- Kristi Anseth, distinguished professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; BioFrontiers Institute
Christopher Bowman, distinguished professor, James and Catherine Patten Chair, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Material Science and Engineering Program; co-director of the NSF I/UCRC for Fundamentals and Applications and Photopolymerizations
Terri Fiez, former vice chancellor for research and innovation; co-founder Azuray Technologies
Zoya Popovic, distinguished professor, Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering; Lockheed Martin Endowed Chair in RF Engineering
Alan Weimer, professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; co-founder of ALD NanoSolutions and Copernican Energy
Advancing foundational research for national defense and aerospace innovation
Early-career awards from the Department of Defense, including the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Young Investigator Research Program (YIP), support outstanding scientists and engineers who demonstrate exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research. These awards aim to foster creative basic research in science and engineering, enhance early career development, and increase opportunities for the recipients to recognize the Air Force mission and related challenges.
Assistant Professors R. Kōnane Bay and Ankur Gupta from CU Boulder’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering have been honored with the 2025 Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Young Investigator Program Award for their work in self-healing, innovative materials and the development of more precise chemical sensors, respectively. Read more about Bay's and Gupta's work here.
Other CU Engineering recipients include:
Natasha Bosanac, assistant professor, Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences, was awarded a 2024 AFOSR YIP grant to advance the study of spacecraft trajectories in cislunar space—the region around the Earth and the Moon. Her research aims to improve navigation for future lunar and deep-space missions.
Robyn Macdonald, assistant professor, Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences, received a 2022 AFOSR YIP award to push the boundaries of hypersonics, focusing on understanding and predicting hypersonic air flows to enhance the design and control of vehicles traveling at extreme speeds.
Xudong Chen, assistant professor, Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, earned a 2020 AFOSR YIP grant for his contributions to control, estimation, and analysis of large-scale multi-agent systems, including ensemble control theory, ensemble estimation theory, ensemble system identification, and networked control theory.