Caltech Alumnus Robert W. Conn Honored with NAE Lifetime Achievement Award

Robert W. Conn (MS ’65, PhD ’68), president and CEO, emeritus, of the Kavli Foundation; UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering dean emeritus; Caltech distinguished alumnus; and fusion engineering innovator, will receive the Simon Ramo Founders Award, the oldest and one of the most prestigious awards bestowed by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

The Ramo Founders Award was established in 1965. It is named after Conn’s fellow Caltech alumnus Simon Ramo (PhD ’36) to honor outstanding NAE members who have upheld the ideals and principles of the NAE through professional, educational, and personal achievement and accomplishment. One award is given per year. It will be presented to Conn during the 2023 National Academy of Engineering Annual Meeting “for shaping national science and technology policy through leadership in academia, business, and philanthropy and for seminal contributions to fusion engineering.”

A leading researcher in plasma physics, fusion energy, energy policy, and materials science, Conn pioneered the design of fusion power systems. He co-founded and served as the first director of University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Fusion Technology Institute and later established and led UCLA’s Institute of Plasma and Fusion Research. 

Over the course of his career, Conn served on many advisory committees for the National Research Council, the National Academy of Sciences, and the U.S. Congress and executive branch agencies of the U.S. government, including the Department of Energy.