RENEW Institute Director Amit Goyal elected Fellow of IEEE

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Amit Goyal, an internationally recognized materials scientist and director of the University at Buffalo’s RENEW Institute, was elected Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a professional organization dedicated to advancing technology and fostering technological innovation for the benefit of humanity.

The honor, effective Jan. 1, recognizes Goyal “for contributions to high-temperature superconducting materials.”

The designation is conferred by the IEEE Board of Directors upon scientists with an outstanding record of accomplishments in IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year cannot exceed one-tenth of 1 percent of the total voting membership. IEEE fellowship is the highest grade of membership and is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.

In addition to leading UB RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water), an interdisciplinary institute dedicated to research and education on globally pressing problems in energy, environment and water, Goyal is a SUNY Distinguished Professor and SUNY Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and he has an adjunct appointment in the Department of Physics.

Goyal’s research has had a profound impact on the field of high-temperature superconductivity, both in fundamental materials science and in the transition of scientific discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace. He was previously elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his contributions to the field of high-temperature superconductivity.

His research innovations addressed the first holy grail of applied superconductivity —fabricating long lengths of high-performance, single-crystal-like, flexible superconducting wires at a price/performance metric equivalent to that of copper wires. His work also addressed the second holy grail of applied superconductivity — incorporating an array of non-superconducting, columnar defects within the wires for enhanced performance in high-applied magnetic fields. His numerous innovations are being used worldwide to fabricate long-lengths of superconducting wires for a wide range of transformative applications. 

In addition to IEEE, Goyal is an elected fellow of nine, diverse, professional societies for his research contributions and innovations in the field of materials science: the National Academy of Inventers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Materials Research Society, the American Physical Society, the American Society of Metals, the American Ceramic Society, the Institute of Physics, the World Innovation Foundation, and the World Technology Network.

Goyal has authored or co-authored more than 350 technical publications, including 45 invited book chapters and papers, and has co-edited six books. He has given more than 25 plenary and keynote talks and more than 180 invited presentations at national and international conferences. He has 87 issued patents comprising 70 U.S. and 17 international patents, and more than 20 patents pending. He was the most cited author worldwide in the field of high-temperature superconductivity from 1999-2009.

He has received numerous national and international accolades, including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award in the inaugural category of Energy Science and Innovation. The energy secretary bestows the award on behalf of the president of the United States. He was named the R&D Magazine’s Innovator of the Year in 2010 and received the 2012 World Technology Award in the category of “Materials.”

Goyal’s other key honors include: Ten R&D 100 Awards (in 2017, 2016, 2013, 2012, 2011, two in 2010, 2009, 2007, 1999), which are widely regarded as the “Oscars of innovation;” three national Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) awards for technology transfer; 2010 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Technology; the 2008 Nano50^TM Innovator Award; the 2007 Pride of India Gold Award; University of Rochester’s Distinguished Scholar Medal in 2007; the U.S. Department of Energy Exceptional Accomplishment Award in 2005; the UT-Battelle Inventor-of-the-Year Awards in 2005 and 1999; the 2005 Global Indus Technovator Award; in 2001, the Energy-100 Award for the finest 100 scientific accomplishments of the U.S. Department of Energy since it was formed in 1977; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Technical Review TR100 Award; and the Lockheed-Martin NOVA Award for technical achievement in 1999.

UB RENEW harnesses the expertise of more than 100 faculty in seven UB schools and colleges in a multidisciplinary effort towards convergence research, involving the faculties of the School of Architecture and Planning, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Law, School of Management, School of Public Health and Health Professions, and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB.

Goyal came to UB from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he was a corporate fellow and distinguished scientist cited for pioneering research in the field of high-temperature superconductors, including fundamental materials science advances and technical innovations that enable commercialization.

He was a Battelle Distinguished Inventor at UT-Battelle, the organization that administers the laboratory, and he was chair of the laboratory’s corporate fellows council, which advises laboratory management on scientific and technological issues and opportunities. He is presently an emeritus corporate fellow and Battelle Distinguished Inventor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory/UT-Battelle. Additionally, Goyal is the founder and president of TapeSolar Inc., a private-equity funded solar photovoltaics company, and TexMat, an intellectual property holding and consulting company.

He received a PhD in materials science and engineering from the University of Rochester in 1991, a master’s of science in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of Rochester in 1988 and a bachelor of technology in metallurgical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India, in 1986.

He also received an executive MBA from Purdue University and an international executive MBA from Tilburg University in The Netherlands, as well as executive business training from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

About IEEE

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