Stevens is celebrating two of its faculty members, Dr. Victor Lawrence and Dr. Nicholaus Parziale, who received two of the nation’s highest honors for their remarkable contributions to science and technology. Former President Biden awarded Dr. Lawrence, a Senior Research Scientist in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Mr. Biden awarded Dr. Parziale, a professor of mechanical engineering, with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). These prestigious awards highlight their groundbreaking work, shaping the future of global connectivity and hypersonic transportation.
Dr. Lawrence’s career includes innovations that revolutionized how the world communicates and connects. At Bell Labs, the storied research and development company, his work was instrumental in the global transition from analog to digital communications, laying the technological foundations for today’s internet, mobile devices, and high-definition television. He also led teams at Bell Labs in developing early digital video and high-definition television technologies. Among his most impactful achievements is his role in developing subsea fiber-optic cable systems, which connected African nations to the global internet, addressing a critical gap in worldwide connectivity. This vision, inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s iconic moonshot speech during Lawrence’s youth in Ghana, continues to resonate as he reflects on the power of technology to transform lives.
Lawrence’s prolific career includes over 50 U.S. and international patents and numerous accolades, including induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and membership in the National Academy of Engineering. The White House ceremony honoring him celebrated his transformative impact on digital communications. “You have to stand on somebody’s shoulder to see far,” Lawrence remarked during the event, “but I also hope my shoulders are strong enough for the next generation to be able to stand on and see far.”
Dr. Parziale’s recognition with the PECASE award places him among an elite group of scientists and engineers shaping the future of technology and science in the early stages of their careers. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on early-career scientists and engineers. It fosters groundbreaking research while strengthening national priorities in science and technology. Parziale’s selection reflects his extraordinary contributions to studying high-speed boundary-layer physics, a field critical to developing hypersonic transportation. His research explores the physics of the thin layer of gas surrounding high-speed vehicles, an area with significant implications for the design of cars that could travel at speeds five to ten times faster than sound.
The PECASE award comes with a $1 million grant over five years, which Parziale will use to advance his research on high-speed fluid mechanics. His work promises transformative advancements in transportation, potentially enabling hypersonic planes that could reduce intercontinental travel times from 16 hours to just one. “Our dream is to make the Concorde look slow,” Parziale said, referencing the iconic supersonic aircraft that once reduced flight times dramatically. He envisions a future where hypersonic planes shrink the globe, enabling day trips to the other side of the world. Parziale credited his success to his support from Stevens leadership, the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and his Ph.D. students. “These awards are made to a single person, but really, it is awarded to my whole group,” he said. “It’s really neat!”
The achievements of Dr. Lawrence and Dr. Parziale reflect Stevens’s mission to advance innovation, tackle critical challenges, and make a lasting impact on society. Dr. Lawrence’s lifetime of pioneering contributions has fundamentally shaped global connectivity, enabling technologies that billions rely on daily. Meanwhile, Dr. Parziale’s research is paving the way for a future where hypersonic transportation redefines travel limits and global interaction. President Nariman Farvardin expressed pride in their accomplishments, noting that these awards underscore the university’s commitment to excellence and groundbreaking research.
Photo courtesy of stevens.edu
