Jonathan S. Turner, Ph.D., the Barbara J. and Jerome R. Cox Jr. Professor of Computer Science in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Turner was recognized for his contributions to the design and analysis of high-performance communication networks and was among 64 new members elected in February, bringing the total U.S. peer-elected membership to 2,217 of the world’s most accomplished engineers.
“Jon’s election to the National Academy of Engineering is a much deserved recognition of his exceptional contributions in research, teaching and service to his profession and to the University,” said Mary J. Sansalone, Ph.D., dean of the engineering school.
Founded in 1964, the NAE is a private, independent, nonprofit institution that provides engineering leadership in service to the nation.
The NAE advises the federal government and conducts independent studies to examine important topics in engineering and technology. The NAE is a member of the National Academies, which also includes the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.
In 1998, Turner — with colleagues Jerome R. Cox, Sc.D., senior professor in computer science and engineering, and Guru M. Parulkar, Ph.D., former computer science and engineering professor — founded the WUSTL Applied Research Laboratory. The laboratory developed a series of high-performance networking systems and technologies, including an early metropolitan area testbed using Asynchronous Transfer Mode switches that Turner designed.
Continuing their collaboration, Turner, Cox and Parulkar founded the start-up company Growth Networks, which developed high-performance switch-ing components for Internet routers, and was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2000, becoming a model for technology-transfer initiatives at WUSTL.
Cox and his wife, Barbara, established the professorship Turner holds.
Turner has been awarded 30 patents for his work on switching systems.
Turner was one of WUSTL’s first dual-degree graduates, earning bachelor’s degrees in computer science and electrical engineering, as well as a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College in 1977.
Continuing his education at Northwestern University, Turner earned master’s and doctoral degrees in computer science in 1979 and 1982, respectively.
During his graduate studies, Turner worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Naperville, Ill. After leaving Bell Laboratories in 1983, Turner returned to WUSTL as an assistant professor of computer science. In 1990, he became a full professor and later served as department chair from 1992-97.
Election to the NAE is one of many honors and awards Turner has received. He has been acknowledged for his technical contributions at the highest levels in the nation, including as the recipient of the Koji Kobayashi Award in Computers and Communications and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) Millennium Medal.
Turner has been elected a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery, as well as the IEEE. He has received numerous WUSTL honors, including the 1993 Distinguished Faculty Award and the 2004 Arthur Holly Compton Award for Faculty Achievement. This spring, he will receive the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from the engineering school.