ChBE Alumni Duong, Park Win Association Awards

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Alumni Anh N. Duong (B.S. '82) and Dr. Chan Mo Park (M.S. '64, Ph.D. '69) have been named the recipients of the 2009 Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award and International Alumnus Award, respectively, by the University of Maryland Alumni Association. The awards will be presented at the 10th Annual Alumni Association Awards Gala this April.

The Clark School's Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award recognizes an "engineering alumnus who exemplifies the bold visions, bright future and new directions that make them a proud reflection of the leadership that is nurtured and grown at Maryland". The university's International Alumnus Award is presented to "a University of Maryland alumna/us who was born or lives outside of the United States, and has distinguished himself/herself by providing significant leadership to another country’s educational, cultural, social, and/or economic development."

Duong, director of the Borders and Maritime Security Division in the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security, is an internationally recognized expert in explosives currently focusing her efforts on combating terrorism. Inspired by those who helped her family flee Vietnam in 1975, she has spent the past 23 years serving the soldiers of her adopted country. One of her most significant accomplishments was the development of the first U.S. thermobaric bomb, used in Afghanistan to destroy command posts situated in deep caves and tunnels. She is the recipient of numerous government, naval, and civilian honors, including the Meritorious Civilian Award and the Dr. Arthur Bisson Award for Naval Technology Achievement. She has been interviewed by national and international media, featured in the documentary film Why We Fight and the Discovery Channel's Future Weapons series, and profiled in Sybil Hatch's book Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers.

Park is the Special Advisor to the President of Korea for Science and Technology, professor emeritus and immediate past president of the Pohang University of Science and Technology, Co-Chair of the Founding Committee of the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, and an elected Fellow of the Korean Academy of Sciences and Technology. His distinguished academic career has also included professorships at the University of Maryland College Park, The Catholic University of America, and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). He has served as the president of numerous professional associations in Korea and the U.S. and the Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea. He has been decorated by the Republic of Korea with the National Order of Camellia and the Blue Stripes Order of Merit for his contributions to the advancement and development of science and technology. Park's research interests include IT, digital image processing, virtual reality, and system simulation.

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Published March 20, 2009