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Each year, faculty and researchers across the MIT School of Engineering are recognized with prestigious awards for their contributions to research, technology, society, and education. To celebrate these achievements, the school periodically highlights select honors received by members of its departments, institutes, labs, and centers. The following individuals were recognized in winter 2026:
Arup K. Chakraborty, the John M. Deutch (1961) Institute Professor in the departments of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, and Physics, and the founding director of the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, as well as James J. Collins, the Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering and Science in the Department of Biological Engineering and IMES, received the 2026 Laureate of the Tel Aviv University International Prize in Biophysics. The prize recognizes outstanding scientists whose work has significantly advanced the understanding of biological systems through physical principles.
Anantha Chandrakasan, MIT provost and the Vannevar Bush Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, received the 2025 IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits Test of Time Award. The award recognizes an outstanding paper published in the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits at least 10 years prior that has had significant impact on its field.
Charles Harvey, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Piotr Indyk, the Thomas D. and Virginia W. Cabot Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; John Henry Lienhard, the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Water and Mechanical Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering; Frances Ross, the TDK Professor in Materials Science and Engineering; Zoltán Sandor Spakovszky, the T. Wilson (1953) Professor in Aeronautics; and Ram Sasisekharan, the Alfred H. Caspary Professor of Biological Physics and Physics in the Department of Biological Engineering; were elected to the National Academy of Engineering for 2026. One of the highest professional distinctions for engineers, membership in the NAE is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education,” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.”
Michael Howland, the Jeffrey Cheah Career Development Professor and assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, received a 2026 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation. The award supports early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.
Yoon Kim, associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Anand Natarajan, an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; and Mengjia Yan, ITT Career Development Professor in Computer Technology and associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, were named 2026 Sloan Research Fellows. Sloan Research Fellowships support fundamental research conducted by early-career scientists, and they are awarded annually to early-career researchers whose creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next generation of leaders.
Carlos Portela, the Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professor and associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has received a 2026 Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research. The Young Investigator Program seeks to identify and support academic scientists and engineers who are in their first or second full-time tenure-track or tenure-track-equivalent academic appointment, who have received their doctorate or equivalent degree in the past seven years, and who show exceptional promise for doing creative research.
Ellen Roche, the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor and associate department head for research in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and a professor in the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, received the 2026 Sony Women in Technology Award with Nature. The award recognizes exceptional early- to mid-career women researchers in technology who through their research are driving a positive impact on society and the planet.
Tess Smidt, an associate professor in the Department of EECS, was named co–principal investigator on a National Science Foundation (NSF) AI Research Institute award and also received a 2025 Department of Energy Office of Science Early Career Research Program Award. The NSF AI Materials Institute (AI-MI) aims to propel foundational AI research past the limitations of existing AI algorithms by pursuing materials discovery and conquering knowledge- and data-centric challenges. The DoE Early Career Research Program provides five-year awards to exceptional early career researchers at U.S. academic institutions, DoE National Laboratories, and Office of Science User Facilities to stimulate new research directions in mission critical areas supported by DoE’s Office of Science.
Antonio Torralba, the Delta Electronics Professor and faculty head of AI+D in the Department of EECS, was elected to the 2025 cohort of Association for Computing Machinery Fellows. ACM Fellows, the highest honor bestowed by the professional organization, are registered members of the society selected by their peers for outstanding accomplishments in computing and information technology and/or outstanding service to ACM and the larger computing community.
Harry L. Tuller, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, received The Senior Scientist Award from the International Society for Solid State Ionics. The Senior Scientist Award, the most prestigious award of the International Society for Solid State Ionics, is presented to a senior solid-state ionics researcher who has made outstanding contributions to the science and engineering of solid-state ionics.
Vinod Vaikuntanathan, the Ford Foundation Professor of Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, was named a 2026 fellow of the International Association for Cryptologic Research. ACR has established the IACR Fellows Program to recognize outstanding IACR members for technical and professional contributions.
