New energy award honors celebrated ASME member

Suzanne Surbeck
ASME Governance

The ASME Committee on Honors has approved the establishment of the Frank Kreith Energy Award, which was proposed by ASME's Solar Energy and Advanced Energy divisions, with support of the Energy Resources Group.

The award was created to honor the life-long achievements of Kreith, currently an ASME Distinguished Lecturer and Honorary Member. Kreith, who is also an ASME Fellow and world-renowned pioneer in the fields of solar engineering, heat transfer and renewable energy, is a celebrated author and lecturer. As a former ASME Legislative Fellow and State Government Coordinator, he also has been an adviser to the White House, NATO, the United Nations, and U.S. state legislatures.

Frank Kreith

The annual award, which will be presented thanks to a $40,000 endowment from the Kreith family, will be conferred to an individual who has made great achievements in energy conservation and renewable energy technology. This is the first Society-wide award to specifically recognize contributions in these fields.

The endowment for the award, according to Marion Kreith, Frank's wife, came out of the family's desire to express its gratitude to ASME for its unrelenting support of Kreith's career for almost 60 years. "More than anything else, it was Frank's feeling of belonging to a Society which valued and respected his abilities that helped make his amazingly productive career possible," she said.

"We were delighted with the creation of the Frank Kreith Energy Award because it serves so many functions," Marion Kreith continued. "Our children are pleased to have the opportunity to honor their father's accomplishments. Creative young men and women of the future will be rewarded for keeping Frank's work and vision alive. And I, finally, have a way to express my deep gratitude to ASME for its contribution to the success of my husband's professional life."

Considered a trailblazer in solar energy research and development, Kreith received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of California. In l965, he was awarded a doctorate in applied science from the University of Paris.

Kreith started his career as a research engineer at the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1945. He was a Guggenheim Fellow at Princeton University in l950. He became an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley, in l951, and an associate professor at Lehigh University in l953. In l959, he joined the University of Colorado as professor of mechanical and chemical engineering. In l979, he was named chief of solar thermal research at the Solar Energy Research Institute, of which he was a founding member.

Kreith is also a noted author. One of his best-known books, "Principles of Heat Transfer," is now in its sixth edition and has become a standard reference guide in the field. He also co-authored "Solar Heating and Cooling," which broke new ground in the field of solar energy, and was the editor-in-chief of the CRC "Handbook of Mechanical Engineering."

Kreith joined ASME in l951 and has received, among other awards, the ASME and Ralph Coates Roe Medals. He was the founding editor of the Journal of Solar Energy Engineering and is internationally sought after as an ASME Distinguished Lecturer. His most memorable service to the Society and most satisfying job, according to Marion Kreith, was the 13 years that he served as the ASME Legislative Fellow at the National Conference of State Legislatures. In that position, he advised all 50 state governments on technical aspects of energy conservation, waste management, transportation and renewable energy portfolio standards.

The next generation of his family is also learning about Kreith's pivotal role in the mechanical engineering profession. His daughter Judy, and two of his grandchildren, attended last year's ASME Congress in Anaheim, Calif., where Kreith was named an Honorary Member. That event was described by Judy Kreith as "a wonderful opportunity for me and my two nieces to learn about many of my father's lifetime achievements."

For more information regarding the Frank Kreith Energy Award, please contact Gilda A. DiTullio, Honors & Awards, at (212) 591-7736 or e-mail DiTullioG@asme.org. For more information regarding making a contribution to the ASME Foundation to create a similar endowment, please contact Warren Leonard at (212) 591-7846 or e-mail leonardw@asme.org.

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