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NOMINATIONS
SOUGHT FOR FIRST RUSS ENGINEERING PRIZE
The
National Academy of Engineering is now seeking nominations
for a biennial $500,000 prize made possible by longtime Ohio
University benefactors Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ.
The Russes
attracted national attention in October when they announced
the creation of the Russ Prize, which joins the Charles
Stark Draper Prize as one of the top engineering prizes in
the world.
The Russ
Prize, funded through a $5.8 million endowment to Ohio
University from the Russes, will recognize engineering
achievement that has significantly impacted society. The
first Russ Prize will be awarded in October and will
recognize outstanding achievement in bioengineering. The
winner will spend a week lecturing and working with faculty
and students on the Athens campus.
"The prize
is patterned after the Nobel Prize, and we hope it will
enhance engineering and attract more people to the field,"
Fritz Russ said.
"Engineers
make a major contribution to our society and they don't get
adequate recognition. Ohio University has a great College of
Engineering and I want to tell the world about it. The
National Academy of Engineering is the best vehicle to award
the prize."
The Russ
Prize and the annual $500,000 Draper Prize, endowed by
Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, Mass., are the top two
engineering prizes in the world according to academy
President Wm. A. Wulf. The Draper Prize was established in
1988 to recognize individuals whose outstanding engineering
achievements have contributed to the well-being and freedom
of humanity.
Fritz
Russ, a former university trustee, graduated from Ohio
University in 1942 with a bachelor of science degree in
electrical engineering and took a job at the Naval Research
Laboratory in Washington. He later worked for Industrial
Research Laboratory in Baltimore before moving to Dayton,
where both he and Dolores Russ took jobs at Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base. Fritz Russ worked on missile guidance and
control systems.
In 1955,
the Russes started their own business, Systems Research
Laboratories Inc., in a 1,200-square-foot concrete block lab
equipped with desks from Goodwill Industries. The business,
which conducted research in medical electronics for the
military and other clients, employed 25 people within a
year's time.
The Russes
sold the business in 1987. Today, it is one of the Dayton
area's largest employers, providing 1,250 jobs.
The
university's College of Engineering was named for the Russes
in 1994.
"The Russ
Prize will further elevate the image of engineers and
enhance the recognition of what engineering has done and
will continue to do for society," said Russ College Dean
Kent Wray.
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This
story originally appeared in the January edition of Outlook,
Ohio University's faculty/staff publication.
The
deadline for nominations is March 3, 2000. You can download
a copy of the nomination form by visiting the
National
Academy of Engineering's Web
site.
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