The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has announced the election of 76 new members and 11 foreign associates, including ME alumnus Roger L. McCarthy, chairman of the board, Exponent Inc. and Exponent Failure Analysis Associates Inc., Menlo Park, California, and member of the ME External Advisory Board.
He joins ME Professor Yoram Koren (2004) and fellow EAB members Ward Winer (1998) and Marshall Jones (2001) in having received this prestigious honor (see related story about Professor Koren).
In making the announcement of this honor, the NAE recognized McCarthy for "major contributions to improved vehicle safety and for methods of quantitative assessment of the reliability of complex mechanical systems." This recognition is quite significant, as the NAE is the portal for all engineering activities at the National Academies, including NAE, the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council. The NAE's mission is "to promote the technological welfare of the nation by marshaling the knowledge and insights of eminent members of the engineering profession."
McCarthy, who will receive formal induction in October, has been a longtime supporter of ME. In addition to his active involvement in the EAB's activities since 1996, he has endowed The Roger L. McCarthy professorship to support the teaching and scholarship of a distinguished faculty member in Mechanical Engineering.
After receiving a BA in Philosophy and a BSE ME in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1972, he received an MS in Mechanical Engineering, the professional degree of Mechanical Engineering (MechE), and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.
As chairman of Exponent Inc. and Exponent Failure Analysis Associates Inc., Menlo Park, California, he oversees the operation of the largest engineering firm in the nation dedicated primarily to the analysis and prevention of scientific or engineering failures.
"My area is mechanical design," said McCarthy, "and I have been in the forefront of using large scale accident and incident databases for design assessment. I have assembled the largest accident and incident data collection in the world (I believe) at Exponent to facilitate this work."
The NAE honor has had had a profound effect on him both personally and professionally. He noted that he has received more congratulations from friends on colleagues on his election to NAE than on any other event in his professional life.
"On a personal level, it almost makes my career complete," he said.
McCarthy partially credits his ME education for his success. Vehicle safety and the methods he developed for assessing vehicle design were "clearly the result of my Michigan training," he said. "I learned zip about vehicles at MIT. Obviously MIT was important in my training in quantitative methods, but without the Michigan's training, I would have been in some completely different field."
His involvement with the EAB has also been particularly beneficial. "I walk away from every meeting having learned a lot more from you than you've learned from me. These meetings so are incredibly valuable survey seminars on current research."
His most recent honors include the U.S. Army's Gold Outstanding Civilian Service Medal in 1998 and the Department of Mechanical Engineering Alumni Society Merit Award for 1994-95. He has served as a member of the ASME's Board of Safety Codes and Standards and on the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science.