Spotlight on ASME Awards Ralph Coats Roe Medal to G. Wayne Clough at the 2013 Honors Assembly

Spotlight on ASME Awards Ralph Coats Roe Medal to G. Wayne Clough at the 2013 Honors Assembly Spotlight on ASME Awards Ralph Coats Roe Medal to G. Wayne Clough at the 2013 Honors Assembly Spotlight on ASME Awards Ralph Coats Roe Medal to G. Wayne Clough at the 2013 Honors AssemblyG. Wayne Clough G. Wayne Clough, P.E., Ph.D., secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, is one of 10 engineering innovators who will be honored by the Society for their achievements this year at the ASME Honors Assembly. The prestigious event will take place the evening of Nov. 18, during the 2013 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress Exposition in San Diego, Calif. Dr. Clough, a resident of Washington, D.C., will receive ASMEs Ralph Coats Roe Medal during the ceremony. The medal, established in 1972, recognizes an outstanding contribution toward a better public understanding and appreciation of the engineers worth to contemporary society. Clough is being recognized with the award for his ma ny contributions to both higher education policy and U.S. technology policy and for demonstrating, through distinguished leadership of the Smithsonian Institution, that an accomplished engineer can be the guardian and primary advocate for preserving and promoting ur national cultural heritage. Clough became secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the worlds largest museum and research complex, in 2008. The Smithsonian encompasses 19 museums and galleries, 20 libraries, the National Zoo and numerous research centers. It conducts activities in nearly 100 countries and sponsors educational programs throughout the United States via broadcast media, the internet and traveling exhibitions.Since joining the Smithsonian, Clough has emphasized the development of collaborations with universities and other organizations including the Global Tiger Initiative with the World Bank, the accession of the Space Shuttle Discovery with NASA, and the Haiti Cultural Recovery Project with the U.S. State Department. In 2012, the Smithsonian opened the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation in Front Royal, Va., in partnership with George Mason University as part of a degree program, students conduct research on endangered species with Smithsonian scientists.Before his appointment to the Smithsonian, Clough was president of the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1994-2008. In 2012, Georgia Tech opened the G. Wayne Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons Building to honor his commitment to undergraduate students. Previously, he was a member of the faculty at Duke University and Stanford University. He then joined Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he was head of the department of civil engineering and dean of the College of Engineering. He then served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Washington in Seattle.In addition, Clough has served as chair of the National Academy of Engineering/National Research Council Committee on New Orleans Regional Hurricane Protection Reconstruction, a member of the National Science Board, and a member of Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. He is currently a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Commission on the Future of Humanities and Social Sciences.The ASME Honors and Awards program is sponsored by the ASME Foundation, through the management of award endowment funds set up by individuals, corporations or groups. The 2013 Honors Assembly A Celebration of Engineering is free to all Congress participants. For more information on this event and each of this years 10 award recipients, visit www.asmeconferences.org/Congress2013/Honors.cfm.