Arun Majumdar Recognized by ASME with Honorary Membership

NEW YORK, October 28, 2013 — Arunava Majumdar, Ph.D., a resident of Orinda, Calif., and vice president for energy at Google Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.), will be honored by ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers). He is being recognized for pioneering research in micro/nanoscale heat transfer; and for distinguished service on the Journal of Heat Transfer editorial board, as the founding chair of the ASME Nanotechnology Institute, as founding director of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and as acting under secretary of energy. He will receive Honorary Membership in ASME.

First awarded in 1880, the founding year of the Society, Honorary Membership recognizes a lifetime of service to engineering or related fields. The award will be conferred on Dr. Majumdar at the Society's annual Honors Assembly to be held in conjunction with the 2013 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in San Diego, Nov. 15 through 21.

Majumdar is widely recognized as one of the foremost leaders in energy innovation. He has distinguished himself in research, teaching, university and professional service, and national service.

At Google Inc., Majumdar is driving Google.org's energy initiatives and advising the company on its broader energy strategy.

In October 2009 Majumdar was nominated by President Barak Obama and confirmed by the Senate to become the founding director of DOE's ARPA-E, where he served until June 2012. As the country's only agency devoted to transformational energy research and development, ARPA-E identifies and invests in innovative projects to rapidly create new technologies. Between March 2011 and June 2012 he also served as the acting under secretary of energy and senior advisor to the secretary of energy.

Prior to joining DOE, Majumdar was the Almy and Agnes Maynard chair professor of mechanical engineering, and materials science and engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and the associate laboratory director for energy and environment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Majumdar has published more than 200 journal papers and his research is widely cited. He has given invited lectures worldwide, and has organized several conferences and symposiums. He holds 16 patents.

An ASME Fellow, Majumdar was associate editor of the Journal of Heat Transfer (1998-2001) and founding chair of the ASME Nanotechnology Institute (2003-06). He received the Society's Melville Medal in 1992, Gustus Larson Memorial Award in 2001 and Heat Transfer Memorial Award-Science in 2006; and a Best Paper Award from the Heat Transfer Division in 1993.

Among his honors, Majumdar received an Institute Silver Medal (1985) and Distinguished Alumnus Award (2003) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay; a University of California regents' fellowship (1985-86); a Young Investigator Award (1992) from the National Science Foundation; and an Outstanding Teacher Award (1996) from the department of mechanical engineering at UC Santa Barbara. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Majumdar received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, in 1985; and his master's degree and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley in 1987 and 1989, respectively.

About ASME ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. For more information visit www.asme.org.