Pines Elected to National Academy of Engineering

Darryll J. Pines, dean and Nariman Farvardin Professor of the A. James Clark School of Engineering, has been elected to the 2019 class of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.

The association cited Pines for “inspirational leadership and contributions to engineering education excellence in the United States.” He joins 21 other Clark School-affiliated faculty in the NAE, including UMD Regents Professor C.D. “Dan” Mote Jr., former University of Maryland president and current NAE president, and George Dieter, former dean and professor emeritus of mechanical engineering. University-wide, there are 55 current members of national academies.

“To be recognized among engineers who I’ve long considered role models is a deeply humbling honor,” said Pines, who has led the engineering school for a decade. “I would not be here without the support of my family, colleagues and leadership team.”

As dean of the engineering school with over 6,000 students, Pines led a strategy to improve teaching in fundamental undergraduate courses and raise student retention, succeed in national and international student competitions, emphasize service learning and grand societal challenges, promote high school STEM education, increase the impact of research programs and expand philanthropic contributions to the school.

Most notably, Pines was instrumental in securing a $219.5 million investment—among the largest gifts ever to a public university—from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation. Building Together: An Investment for Maryland is funding need-based scholarships campus-wide, as well graduate fellowships, faculty positions, infrastructure and other initiatives.

Pines’ belief in the value of an inclusive and diverse community has underpinned his work. For example, the percentage of women and underrepresented minorities in the UMD engineering undergraduate student body has grown to 25 and 16 percent, respectively, during his time as dean. According to Diverse Issues in Higher Education, the Clark School ranks among the top 10 in conferring the most B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees to African-American students. He also served as director of the Alfred P. Sloan Doctoral Scholars Program and the National Graduate Education for Minorities Fellowship Program.

“This honor adds another well-deserved milestone to Darryll’s achievements as an engineer and educator,” said University of Maryland President Wallace Loh. “His leadership has infused our engineering program with even greater levels of excellence and innovation. We are delighted by this wonderful news.”

Pines is currently leading an initiative to pilot a first-of-its-kind, nationwide, pre-college course on engineering principles and design. The pilot program, Engineering For US All, will test the effectiveness of a standardized educational curriculum across multiple states. The course, made possible through a $4 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, is intended to eventually provide the equivalent of placement credit for an introductory college course.

Among his many awards are UMD’s 2018 President’s Medal, the State of Maryland House of Delegates Speaker's Medallion in 2015, and various teaching awards, including two Department of Aerospace Broken Propeller awards and the Clark School’s E. Robert Kent Teaching Award for junior faculty.

Pines’ research focuses on structural dynamics, including structural health monitoring and prognosis, smart sensors, and adaptive, morphing, and biologically inspired structures, as well as the guidance, navigation and control of uninhabited aerospace vehicles at all length scales.

He has published more than 250 technical papers and obtained six patents in the areas of smart structures, structural health monitoring, micro air vehicles, navigation, guidance and control of aerospace systems.

During a leave of absence from UMD from 2003–06, Pines served as a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, where he initiated five new programs primarily related to aerospace technologies, and received a Distinguished Service Medal from the U.S. Department of Defense for his efforts. He also held positions at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Chevron Corp. and Space Tethers.

Pines is a fellow of the Institute of Physics, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and has received an NSF CAREER Award. He received his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and earned master’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.