Cristina H. Amon, the Raymond J. Lane Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has won the prestigious Hispanic Engineer of the Year Award in Education.

Amon, who is also director of the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems (ICES), was selected for the award because of her outstanding contributions to developing great science and engineering programs and being a role model for tomorrow's leaders. The award was presented by the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corp., which seeks to document Hispanic excellence nationwide in science, engineering and technology.

"This recognition is extremely meaningful to me because it allows me to become a stronger role model for our Hispanic students at Carnegie Mellon and for the Hispanic community," said Amon, who is known for creatively incorporating computer methods in her mechanical engineering classes.

She has also developed multidisciplinary design courses for both undergraduate and graduate students to help them experience the pressures of the commercial marketplace. In addition, she is the architect of the Engineering Your Future program for Pittsburgh-area middle and high school students interested in engineering careers.

Amon's research pioneered the development of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for formulating and solving thermal design problems in the areas of portable electronics like laptop computers. Her research team is also studying applications to develop micro fuel cells for powering sensors.

Since she became director of ICES in 1999, the multidisciplinary research institute has seen its annual research expenditures increase from $6.2 million to $11.5 million. ICES was formed in 1997 to provide an interface between multidisciplinary research teams and industry.

Amon is a fellow of the Society of Mechanical Engineers, a senior member of the Society of Women Engineers and co-chair of the Faculty Issues Committee of Carnegie Mellon's Diversity Advisory Council.

She has won numerous awards, including the George Westinghouse Award for outstanding contributions to the advancement of engineering education, and the Ralph Coats Roe Award for outstanding contributions to the engineering profession from the American Society of Engineering Education. She is the author of more than 150 papers, covering her own personal mechanical engineering research as well as best practices for educating the next generation of engineers.

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