By Jennifer Kirksey Smith
The second-ever Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize, one of engineering's highest honors for 2003, will be awarded at 10 a.m. Feb. 18 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
The National Academy of Engineering will announce the 2003 recipient of the $500,000 prize, which is named in honor of Fritz Russ, a 1942 Ohio University graduate, and his wife, Dolores. The award, modeled after the Nobel Prize, was established in 1999 through a multimillion-dollar endowment to the University from the Russes.
"It is such an honor for Ohio University to be associated with such a significant award for engineering," said Dennis Irwin, dean of the Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ College of Engineering and Technology. "Fritz and Dolores Russ have dedicated their lives to the field of engineering and demonstrated remarkable devotion to Ohio University and the Russ College."
The prize is awarded biennially to recognize outstanding achievement in an engineering field of critical importance that contributes to improving the human condition. The first Russ Prize awarded in 2001 honored Earl Bakken and Wilson Greatbatch, whose work resulted in the invention of the pacemaker.
Fritz Russ began his career at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. In 1955, Fritz and Dolores opened Systems Research Laboratory, which went on to become one of the largest and best-regarded independent engineering and high-tech research firms of its kind. In 1994, the University's College of Engineering was renamed The Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ College of Engineering and Technology. The Russes divide their time between homes in Naples, Fla., and Dayton, Ohio.
The Ohio University community is invited to watch a live broadcast of the news conference from 9:45 to 11 a.m. in TV Studio A on the fifth floor of the Radio and Television Building. Ohio University President Robert Glidden will speak at the press conference. Hub Burton, associate vice president for University Communications and Marketing, will host the live broadcast.
Jennifer Kirksey Smith is a writer with University Communications and Marketing.
