The McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering is home to 12 living members of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), with seven active faculty and five emeritus faculty members. It is a distinction only bested by MIT which has 22 living NAE members; 11 active faculty and 11 emeritus. Rounding out the top five programs with living NAE faculty counts include, Caltech and Stanford, both with six active and one emeritus NAE member, and Princeton with four active faculty. Also noteworthy, is that the noted Texas ChE faculty members make up 12 of the 21 NAE faculty within the overall Cockrell School of Engineering at UT Austin.
The NAE is a prestigious, independent, nonprofit institution that provides expert engineering leadership and advice to the U.S. government and nation, advancing technology and welfare through its peer-elected members—who are the world's leading engineers from academia, industry, and government. Founded in 1964, it is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and honors engineers for major contributions in practice, research and education, shaping policy and fostering innovation.
For more than six decades, Texas ChE faculty have been elected to the academy in recognition of their pioneering research and innovative applications. Below is a table of all our NAE members and their celebrated accomplishments.
| YEAR | FACULTY MEMMER | RECOGNIZED FOR |
| 2023 | Benny Freeman, Faculty | Advances in membrane materials for gas separation, water purification, and energy-efficient molecular transport. |
| 2018 | Brian Korgel, Faculty | Pioneering work in nanocrystal synthesis and their application in energy, electronics, and advanced materials. |
| 2017 | David Allen, Faculty | Air quality engineering and developing science-based environmental policies, including pioneering methods for measuring industrial emissions. |
| 2014 | Thomas Edgar, Emeritus | Major contributions to process control, optimization, and chemical process systems engineering education. |
| 2012 | Joan Brennecke, Faculty | Groundbreaking research in ionic liquids and sustainable chemical processes, transforming solvent design for green chemistry. |
| 2011 | Keith P. Johnston, Faculty | Contributions to nanoparticle synthesis and supercritical fluid engineering that advanced drug delivery, materials, and energy applications. |
| 2006 | Nicholas Peppas, Faculty | Foundational contributions to biomaterials and drug delivery, including the theory and design of polymer-based therapeutic systems. |
| 2005 | George Georgiou, Faculty | Innovations in protein engineering and biopharmaceutical development, including novel antibody and enzyme therapeutics. |
| 1992 | C. Grant Willson, Emeritus | Groundbreaking work in polymer chemistry and photoresist materials that enabled advances in semiconductor lithography. |
| 1988 | Don Paul, Emeritus | Leadership in polymer science and membrane-based separations, as well as significant contributions to energy and environmental applications. |
| 1987 | Adam Heller, Emeritus | Influential developments in electrochemistry, including glucose monitoring technologies and advanced energy conversion systems. |
| 1977 | Isaac Sanchez, Emeritus | Contributions to polymer thermodynamics and fundamental understanding of polymer-solvent interactions. |
