Westinghouse’s Bruschi, Carnegie Mellon’s Dzombak Inducted Into Prestigious National Academy of Engineering

Retired Westinghouse Electric Company Chief Technology Officer Howard J. Bruschi and Carnegie Mellon University Professor David A. Dzombak were inducted into the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) at its annual meeting held at the National Academies Buildings in Washington, D.C., October 5-6, 2008. Mr. Bruschi and Dr. Dzombak were the only engineers from Pennsylvania elected to the NAE this year.

Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.

The NAE recognized Mr. Bruschi, now an executive consultant for Westinghouse, for his leadership in the design, development and licensing of the passively safe Westinghouse AP600(TM) and AP1000(TM) nuclear power plants.

Currently, Westinghouse is implementing contracts to provide four AP1000s in China. In the United States, the AP1000 is the technology of choice for no less than 14 announced new plants, including four for which engineering, procurement and construction contracts were signed earlier this year. Previously, no contracts for new nuclear plants had been awarded in the United States since before 1978.

“Being elected to the NAE came as both a surprise and tremendous honor in recognizing my role in developing a new generation of nuclear plants. This effort took well over 10 years,” Mr. Bruschi said. “I was quite fortunate to have the support of colleagues, other organizations and technically talented people within Westinghouse and from around the world. Together we achieved our goal of developing an exceedingly safe, environmentally friendly and economically competitive nuclear plant design that is now under contract. This honor is to be shared with them — and together we look forward to the day when the first of these plants goes into operation.”

Mr. Bruschi retired from Westinghouse as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer in 2002, following 38 years of service. He is a graduate of Cornell University with a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh, and completed the Harvard Business School Executive Program for Management Development.

Mr. Bruschi is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Pennsylvania and a member of the American Nuclear Society. He is trustee of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, recent Board Chairman and continuing board member of the Carnegie Science Center and board member of the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. He also sits on the board of governors for the Harvard Business School Association of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Dzombak, the Walter J. Blenko Sr. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is recognized by the NAE for his contribution to the development of models used in evaluating chemical behavior in water quality engineering and environmental remediation.

“I am truly honored to be included with such an accomplished group of engineers, including Howard Bruschi,” said Dzombak, who is Faculty Director of the university’s Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Research and Education, as well as Associate Dean for the College of Engineering. “I will do my best to use my participation in the NAE to serve the nation and to advance engineering.”

Dr. Dzombak holds a Ph.D. in Civil-Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Dzombak obtained a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Carnegie Mellon. He also holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., where he was enrolled in a 3-2 liberal arts/engineering program.

Dr. Dzombak is a registered Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania and a diplomate of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. He serves as chair of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board’s Environmental Engineering Committee and as a member of the EPA National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology’s Environmental Technology Subcommittee. He chaired the National Research Council’s Committee on the Mississippi River and Clean Water Act, and is serving on a follow-up committee on the same topic. Dr. Dzombak is also an associate editor of the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering is a top ten engineering college, with several programs, including the environmental engineering program, being ranked among the top ten in the nation.

Westinghouse is the world’s pioneering nuclear power company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world. Westinghouse technology today is the basis for approximately one-half of the world’s operating nuclear plants.