Engineering Academy Selects Presidential Candidate

A nominating committee of the National Academy of Engineering, which is part of the National Academies, has unanimously approved Charles M. Vest to be NAE's only candidate for president. Vest, 65, is president emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The NAE presidential election will take place in March 2007. Although Vest is currently the sole candidate, NAE bylaws allow for a candidate to be added to the ballot by petition until Jan. 15, 2007. The winner of the March 2007 election will succeed William A. Wulf, whose second NAE presidential term will end on June 30, 2007.

Vest was elected to NAE in 1993 for "technical and educational contributions to holographic interferometry and leadership as an educator." Among his science advisory roles are membership on the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the U.S. Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, a Department of Energy task force on the future of science, and a presidential advisory commission on the redesign of the International Space Station.

Vest has served on panels for numerous National Academies' studies, most recently "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future,??? which highlights the roles of science and engineering in U.S. economic growth and competitiveness.

Vest's educational background includes a B.S. in mechanical engineering from West Virginia University, which he received in 1963, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan, which he earned in 1964 and 1967, respectively.