Awards & RecognitionIEEE-USA InFocus

Madhavan and Madni Receive IEEE-USA George F. McClure Citation of Honor

By Corey Ruth

The IEEE-USA Awards and Recognition Committee faces the difficult task of selecting the most deserving candidates for the IEEE-USA awards each year. Sometimes the achievements of nominated individuals are so outstanding that the committee cannot choose just one winner in a category. This was one of those years, as Dr. Guruprasad Madhavan and Dr. Azad Madni both received the IEEE-USA George. F. McClure Citation of Honor.

“The George F. McClure Citation of Honor is one of the most prestigious awards that IEEE-USA can bestow,” said Dr. Jason Hui, 2021-2022 IEEE-USA Awards and Recognition Committee Chair. “It honors IEEE members who have made exemplary contributions toward achieving the aims of professional activities in the United States. Dr. Madhavan and Dr. Madni are both shining examples of those ideals!”

Dr. Guruprasad Madhavan
Dr. Guruprasad Madhavan

Dr. Guruprasad Madhavan is receiving the IEEE-USA George F. McClure Citation of Honor for outstanding leadership in advancing engineering professionalism through public policy, programs, and engagement.

“Dr. Madhavan is unique in his breadth, depth, and diversity of background and achievements in engineering, policy, and public engagement,” said nominator Barbara Oakley, Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Oakland University. “He is a remarkable example of a rare practitioner, scholar, and technical leader in applying systems engineering concepts to guide policy decisions.”

In his career, Dr. Madhavan has worked and published with leaders in at least 25 different fields and maintained a strong focus on making the results accessible to decision makers and the public. Yet he has still managed to find the time and energy to volunteer on countless IEEE and IEEE-USA committees, including two terms as Vice President of Professional Activities for IEEE-USA (2015-2016) and Founding Chair/Co-Curator of the groundbreaking IEEE-USA Future Leaders Forum held in New Orleans in 2016.

His work with students has been a clear passion. In addition to his role with the Future Leaders Forum, Dr. Madhavan served several years as a member, Vice Chair, and Chair of the IEEE-USA Student Professional Awareness Committee (SPAC).

“As Chair of SPAC in 2013-2014, Dr. Madhavan led one of the most productive two-year results for this important program,” said endorser James Watson, Life Senior Member of IEEE. “He oversaw training several new regional coordinators and the completion of 122 successful events in Regions 1-6. He has made a huge positive impact on IEEE and the entire engineering profession.”

Outside of IEEE, a selection of Dr. Madhavan’s achievements include being the youngest senior leader at the National Academies, leading a complex systems engineering approach to guide a national strategy for cancer control in the United States, serving as lead advisor to the European Union Malaria Fund, and leading the technical and clinical characterization of the microwave ablation catheter for treating atrial fibrillation (a debilitating heart condition).

Dr. Azad Madni
Dr. Azad Madni

Dr. Azad Madni is receiving the IEEE-USA George F. McClure Citation of Honor for sustained excellence, dedicated commitment, and contributions to the socio-economic and diversity aspects of IEEE professional activities in the United States.

“Dr. Madni has given a lifetime of dedicated effort in support of IEEE,” said nominator Ram Duvvuru, IEEE Fellow. “He has done outstanding work in the advancement of the social, economic, legal, and ethical aims of IEEE professional activities.”

As an educator and Executive Director of University of Southern California’s Systems Architecting and Engineering (SAE) Program, Dr. Madni expanded the curriculum by creating new courses in cutting-edge areas including Cyber-Physical-Human Systems, Model-Based Systems Engineering, Cyber-Secure Resilient Systems, and more. After graduation, Dr. Madni’s students have gone on to technical and program leadership positions in top companies like Boeing, SpaceX, Google, and Lockheed Martin.

As a researcher, Dr. Madni has led research in safety and resilience of autonomous vehicles, conducted pioneering work in new approaches to resilient systems design, and drove research in experiential design and distributed cognition for product engineering and manufacturing.

And as an entrepreneur, Dr. Madni is the co-founder of Intelligent System Technology Inc., which conducts artificial intelligence research for the aerospace and autonomous vehicle industries, and the Department of Defense. His company has received numerous industry awards, and its rapid growth under his leadership have allowed him to offer paid internships and fellowships to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, with a focus on underrepresented groups.

“I’ve known Dr. Madni professionally and personally for more than 30 years,” said endorser Dr. Michael Sievers, IEEE Life Senior Member. “I know no other person so dedicated to the advancement of engineering for the betterment of society.”

Congratulations to all the 2021 IEEE-USA Awards honorees! The nomination deadline for the 2022 awards is 15 September. If you know someone who deserves to be recognized, nominate them today at https://ieeeusa.org/volunteers/awards-recognition/.

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Corey Ruth

Corey Ruth was IEEE-USA’s media relations associate before transitioning to the IEEE Standards Association's marketing and communications manager.

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