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Three professors honored by National Academy of Engineering

Three members of the University's engineering faculty, C.K. Law, Bede Liu and Brian Kernighan, were elected to the National Academy of Engineers, one of the highest honors in the engineering community, the academy recently announced.

Law, Kernighan and Liu now join the ranks of 11 other University faculty members elected to the organization.

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"The election of these three outstanding professors highlights the distinction of our engineering faculty at Princeton," Dean of the Engineering School James Wei said.

"Since our engineering school is relatively small, we think it quite an achievement if just one of our faculty is elected in a particular year," he explained.

"To have three members of the faculty elected into this elite body in one year is unprecedented."

Wei also highlighted some of the accomplishments of the recipients. "Each of them has contributed in innumerable ways to their respective scholarly fields, as well as to the successes of our teaching and research programs here at Princeton," he said.

Kernighan, a professor of computer science, focuses his research on program languages, and ways to make them easier to use for both programmers and laymen.

Improving program language efficiency ultimately touches on many aspects of everyday life — from newspaper publication to airport schedules, he said.

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Law, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, also discussed the real life applications of his work in combustion and propulsion — which range from reducing carcinogens in cigarettes to fire safety.

"Take for example the tragedy of Sept. 11th," he said. "The explosion of the airplanes could have been avoided by the use of fire-safe fuel."

Electrical engineering professor Liu was recognized for his study of digital signal processing algorithms. The results of some of his research have been used in electronic products of companies like Rockwell, Toshiba and Hewlett Packard.

The NAE was established in 1964, under the 1863 charter signed by President Lincoln to establish the National Academy of Sciences. Its goal is to showcase the world's most accomplished scientists and researchers.

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Despite their recent laurels, the professors remain committed to their work. "The award is indeed a great honor," Law said. "But I pursue my work for the joy of teaching as well as researching."