Huang, Stupp Elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Two Northwestern Engineering faculty members — Yonggang Huang and Samuel Stupp — have been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences. Membership in the academy is one of the highest honors given to a scientist in the United States.

Huang, Stupp, and Northwestern mathematics professor Laura DeMarco are among 120 new members and 26 new international members elected this year in recognition of distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. They will be inducted at the academy’s annual meeting next year. 

Huang is the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering. He develops models for stretchable and flexible electronics. His work has led to major advancements in bio-integrated electronics for health monitoring.

This week, Huang also was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies.

Huang has received many other awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Prager Medal from the Society of Engineering Sciences, the Drucker Medal and Nadai Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Bazant Medal and Theodore von Karman Medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Huang is a highly cited researcher in engineering, materials science, and physics. 

Stupp is the Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Medicine, and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern Engineering and Weinberg College. 

Stupp’s work integrates chemistry with materials science, biology, and medicine. The overarching interest of his research group is the development of self-assembling organic materials, focusing on functions relevant to energy and medicine. One of his landmark achievements was the development of bioactive materials that can signal cells and be used in novel therapies for regenerative medicine.

He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Spanish Royal Academy, and the National Academy of Inventors. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the Materials Research Society, and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Stupp directs the Simpson Querrey Institute and its two affiliated research centers, the Center for Bio-Inspired Energy Science and the Center for Regenerative Nanomedicine.

In 2020 so far, Northwestern has had a total of 15 faculty elected to the National Academies (engineering, science and education) as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This is the most elections for Northwestern in any year over the past decade. National Academy of Medicine members typically are selected in fall.