Two ME alums honored at 2007 Engineers' Day
wo mechanical engineering alumni received honors at this year’s Engineer’s Day event on Oct. 16. The awards honor alumni who have contributed to the field in their post-academic careers.
Early-Career Achievement Award:
Matthew F. Laudon
Co-founder and executive director of business development,
Nano Science & Technology Institute, Cambridge, MA
(MS ’93, PhD '96)
Matt Laudon’s industry experience includes positions with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne, Motorola in Los Alamos National Laboratories, and several Boston-area start-ups that focused on micro and nanotechnology commercialization and partnership development. He also co-founded several technology-based and technology-transfer companies; most recently, he started the nonprofit Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI), which aims to advance the commercialization and global adoption of clean technologies and sustainable industry practices. To meet these objectives, Laudon works with a community of industry, academic and government leaders who are committed to a safer, cleaner and more productive world.
Distinguished Achievement Award:
Donald C. Erbach
Retired national program leader for engineering and energy,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD
(BS ’65)
As a research engineer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Don Erbach has authored or coauthored more than 200 publications on his work in agricultural soil compaction, crop residue management, weed and insect control, and conservation tillage. Erbach, who retired in 2006 as USDA national program leader for engineering and energy, has served on various agricultural task forces, including a White House science and technology policy task force. He has consulted on soil compaction management in Europe, participated on science exchange in China, consulted on conservation tillage projects in Argentina and Hungary, and served as a visiting researcher for a tillage and energy study in Australia .
