Nadine Aubry, dean of the College of Engineering and University Distinguished Professor, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the society announced Wednesday. Her election to the prestigious organization places her among esteemed scientists, humanitarians, and researchers, including 250 Nobel laureates and 60 Pulitzer Prize winners, who constitute its influential membership.

“I’m very humbled and honored to have been elected,” Aubry said. “It’s a great honor, as well as a wonderful opportunity to be involved with peers in serving the nation and the world through the Academy. It’s also very exciting that the Academy spans a multitude of fields from the arts and humanities to science and engineering, and promotes and bridges knowledge globally and across disciplines for the welfare of society.”

Nadine’s election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is well-deserved recognition of her considerable contributions to engineering research, innovation, and education. This honor is a testament to her leadership in engineering and across disciplines.

Joseph E. Aoun
Northeastern University President

Aubry, whose pioneering work has garnered recognition by many other distinctive organizations, is one of 228 new members elected to the academy’s 237^th class. Two other members of the Northeastern community also are elected members—President Joseph E. Aoun, who was elected in 2010, and Matthews Distinguished University Professor of Music Judith Tick, who was elected in 2004.

“Nadine’s election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is well-deserved recognition of her considerable contributions to engineering research, innovation, and education,” Aoun said. “This honor is a testament to her leadership in engineering and across disciplines.”

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is one of the country’s oldest scholarly societies and independent policy research centers, convening leaders from the academic, business, and government sectors to respond to the challenges facing—and opportunities available to—the nation and the world. Members contribute to academy publications and studies in science, engineering, and technology policy; global security and international affairs; the humanities, arts, and education; American institutions; and the public good.

“It is an honor to welcome this new class of exceptional women and men as part of our distinguished membership,” Don Randel, chair of the academy’s board of directors, said in a news release. “Their talents and expertise will enrich the life of the academy and strengthen our capacity to spread knowledge and understanding in service to the nation.”

Aubry has made notable contributions to the field of fluid dynamics, including turbulence and microfluidics, with wide applications to the transportation, biotech and materials industry sectors among others. She has also played leadership roles in the broad science and engineering community, including as chair of the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics, chair of the National Academy of Sciences’ U.S. National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, and chair of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering Education (FOEE) Advisory Committee.  She was also recently elected secretary of the National Academy of Engineering’s Mechanical Engineering Section.

Aubry is currently president of the International Union for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM), an affiliation of some 500 distinguished representatives of national mechanics committees, societies, and organizations from 50 countries worldwide. IUTAM has played a crucial role in promoting the broad field of mechanics worldwide through its world congresses and symposia across the globe, with the first congress held in 1924.  She is the first woman to hold the four-year position and just the fourth president from the United States.

Aubry has also been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), and is a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the American Association for the Advancement (AAAS). Recently, she was selected as the 2017 recipient of the G.I. Taylor Medal from the Society of Engineering Science (SES) for outstanding research contributions in the field of fluid mechanics.

Aubry and other members of her class—including musician John Legend and actress Carol Burnett, as well as mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani and writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie—will be inducted at a ceremony on Oct. 7 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.