CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Nancy Sottos, an engineering professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. She is one of 87 new members and 18 international members announced by the Academy on Feb. 6.
Sottos is the department head and Swanlund Chair of materials science and engineering and leads the Autonomous Materials Systems group at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at Illinois. She also is affiliated with mechanical science and engineering, aerospace engineering and the Materials Research Laboratory.
“This is one of the very most prestigious honors an engineer can earn, and we are thrilled that Nancy’s distinguished reputation among her peers is being recognized,” said Rashid Bashir, the dean of The Grainger College of Engineering. “We are extremely proud of her accomplishments, and we know that they will only grow in her new role as head of the department of materials science and engineering.”
Sottos’ research interests center on polymers and composite materials capable of self-healing and regeneration; mechanochemically active polymers; and materials designed for reliable energy storage. She is a Fellow of the Society of Engineering Science and the Society for Experimental Mechanics.