John Orcutt Elected to National Academy of Engineering

Published 02/14/2011

The academy recognized Orcutt "for international leadership in development of new ocean-observing infrastructure and environmental and geophysics research," according to a citation released this week.

Orcutt's areas of research include marine seismology, applications of seismology to the monitoring of nuclear tests, and the exploitation of information technology for the collection and processing of real-time environmental data across many disciplines. Orcutt also serves on the executive committee of the university's California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2).

Orcutt is among 68 researchers elected this year. UC San Diego Biology Professor Terrence Sejnowski was also elected to the academy. Sejnowski, who is Francis Crick professor and director of the computational neurobiology laboratory at Salk Institute for Biological Studies and a professor of neurobiology at UC San Diego, was recognized by the academy for contributions to artificial and real neural network algorithms and applying signal processing models to neuroscience.

The academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature, and to the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."

An SIO press release on Orcutt's election can be found online. More information on Sejnowki's election can also be found online.

About SDSC
As an organized research unit of UC San Diego, SDSC is a national leader in creating and providing cyberinfrastructure for data-intensive research, and celebrated its 25th anniversary in late 2010 as one of the National Science Foundation's first supercomputer centers. Cyberinfrastructure refers to an accessible and integrated network of computer-based resources and expertise, focused on accelerating scientific inquiry and discovery. SDSC is a founding member of TeraGrid, the nation's largest open-access scientific discovery infrastructure.

Media Contacts:
Jan Zverina, SDSC Communications
858 534-5111 or jzverina@sdsc.edu

Warren R. Froelich, SDSC Communications
858 822-3622 or froelich@sdsc.edu

Related Links

San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC): http://www.sdsc.edu
Scripps Institution of Oceanography: http://sio.ucsd.edu/
UC San Diego Division of Biological Sciences: http://biology.ucsd.edu/
UC San Diego: http://www.ucsd.edu