Distinguished Adjunct Professor Asad Madni Awarded John Fritz Medal

Asad Madni, a distinguished adjunct professor of electrical and computer engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, has been awarded the John Fritz Medal, a major international award that honors scientific or industrial achievement in any field of pure or applied science.

Madni was selected for his “seminal and pioneering contributions to the development and commercialization of innovative sensing and systems technologies, distinguished research leadership, and service to the nation.”

The Fritz Medal was created in 1902 and awarded by the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES). When AAES was dissolved in 2020, the administration of the award was transferred to the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME), and is currently coordinated by AIME member society, the Society of Mining, Metallurgy, & Exploration (SME).

John Fritz, an American engineer and inventor, was a titan of the 19th century iron and steel industry. To honor his legacy, five engineering societies, including the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical & Petroleum Engineers, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, established the honor in 1902, on Fritz’s 80th birthday.

Among the award’s many notable winners are inventor Thomas Edison, physicist Lord Kelvin, telephone innovator Alexander Graham Bell, electric industry titan George Westinghouse, flight pioneer Orville Wright, longtime general motors engineer Charles Kettering, information theory founder Claude Shannon, and semiconductor giants Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore. The most recent recipient is Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who received the medal in 2021.

The John Fritz Medal will be presented to Madni February 28, 2024 at the MINEXCHANGE 2024 SME Annual Conference & Expo in Phoenix, Arizona.