Vest Receives Top Technology Honor

Charles Vest

Dr. Charles Vest, a Morgantown native and graduate of our department who went on to head the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received the nation's highest honor for technology on July 27. President Bush presented the 2006 National Medal of Technology to Vest and other honorees in ceremonies at the White House.

Vest earned a degree in mechanical engineering from WVU in 1963. He then studied at the University of Michigan, where he stayed on as a professor, researcher and administrator after earning his master's and doctorate there. From Michigan he moved on to MIT, where he served as president from 1990-2004. He was praised during his tenure for his innovations as an administrator.

Vest, who was named to WVU's Academy of Distinguished Alumni in 1991, also has honorary doctoral degrees from Harvard and Cambridge universities. He currently serves as president of the National Academy of Engineering.

"We are very proud and honored," said Dean Cilento, "to have such a distinguished alumnus who has achieved so much in his career, president emeritus of MIT, president of the National Academy of Engineering and now to achieve this highest level of recognition for technology innovation in the United States. It is richly deserved, and we look forward to his continuing leadership in technology education and research."

The technology medal honors America's leading innovators for their contributions to the nation's well-being through the development of new products, processes and concepts. It is administered by the Department of Commerce.

"These individuals are some of the most innovative minds in America," Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez said. "They have done everything from improving the health of our nation to keeping our nation more secure, and they have inspired future generations of American inventors, discoverers, teachers and innovators."

The other technology honorees are: Leslie Geddes, Purdue University; Paul Kaminski, Technovation Inc.; Herwig Kogelnik, Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs; and James West, Johns Hopkins University.

07/30/2007