to get involved in Chicagoland Engineers Week. This year’s observance may be one of the most influential gatherings in history.

Members of more than 30 engineering societies will gather in the Chicago area to honor the profession and network with other professionals and civic leaders. At the same time, they will be introduced to a new generation to the field of engineering.

2013 presentation of Washington Award Recipient honors The Honorable Kristina M. Johnson. Dr. Johnson is being recognized for her contributions in optics, engineering education, service as an Under Secretary in the Department of Energy, and her innovative leadership in energy


Kristina M. Johnson is Chief Executive Officer of Enduring Hydro, a clean energy company based in Washington, DC. She served as Under Secretary of Energy at the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. from May 2009 until October 2010. Prior to her appointment as Under Secretary, Dr. Johnson was Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at The Johns Hopkins University (September 2007 to April 2009), and Dean of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University from July 1999 until September of 2007. She received her B.S. (with distinction), M.S., and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. After a NATO post-doctoral fellowship at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, she joined the University of Colorado-Boulder's faculty in 1985 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to full Professor in 1994. From 1994 to 1999 Dr. Johnson directed the NSF/ERC for Optoelectronics Computing Systems Center at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University.

Named an NSF Presidential Young Investigator in 1985 and a Fulbright Faculty Scholar in 1991, Dr. Johnson's academic awards include the Dennis Gabor Prize for creativity and innovation in modern optics (1993) and the John Fritz Medal (2008), widely considered the highest award in the engineering profession. Previous recipients of the Fritz Medal include Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and Orville Wright. Dr. Johnson was inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame (2003), and received the Society of Women Engineers Lifetime Achievement Award (2004), the ARCS Foundation Eagle Award for science and education (2009), and the Woman of Vision Award for Leadership by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (2010). Dr. Johnson has published 142 refereed papers and proceedings and holds 45 U.S. patents (129 U.S. and international patents) and patents pending, and has received honorary degrees from University of Alabama at Huntsville, Tufts University and Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.

Recognized for her work in technology transfer and entrepreneurship by the States of Colorado and North Carolina (1997, 2001); she received the 2010 Milton Steward Award from the Small Business Technology Council (SBTC), and is a fellow of the Optical Society of America, International Electronics and Electrical Engineering (IEEE), SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Johnson serves on the Board of Directors of Boston Scientific Corporation, African Wildlife Foundation, Rocky Mountain Institute, AES Corporation and Cisco Systems. She also co-founded several companies, including Enduring Energy, SouthEast Techinventures, and ColorLink, Inc., which was sold to RealD, and is responsible for 3D optical effects in movies such as Avatar, Monster House, Chicken Little , Meet the Robinson's, Hannah Montana and others.