Popularly known as the “engineering Oscars,” the Indians on NAE’s scroll of honor for this year are: Subhash Mahajan of Arizona State University, Tempe; Arunava Majumdar of the University of California, Berkeley; R. Shankar Nair of Teng & Associates, Chicago; Raja V. Ramani of Pennsylvania State University, University Park; and Subhash C. Singhal of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington.

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded an engineer, a press release by the academy said.

Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature” 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,” the NAE press release said.

Here are short profiles of the five Indian Americans honored this year by the NAE:

SUBHASH MAHAJAN, chair, department of chemical and materials engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe. He has been honored for advancing the understanding of structure-property relationships in semiconductors, magnetic materials, and materials for light-wave communication.

ARUNAVA MAJUMDAR, Almy and Agnes Maynard Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley. He has been honored for contributions to nanoscale thermal engineering and molecular nanomechanics.

R. SHANKAR NAIR, is the senior vice president, Teng & Associates, a Chicago-based engineering company. He has been honored for contributions to the art and science of engineering through the design of innovative bridges and building structures.

RAJA V. RAMANI, Professor Emeritus, mining and geoenvironmental engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park. He has been honored for improvements in the health and safety of miners through a better understanding of the nature and control of airborne particulates.

SUBHASH C. SINGHAL, Battelle Fellow and director of fuel cells, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Wash. He has been honored for the development and promotion of solid oxide fuel cells for clean and efficient power generation.