The University of the Witwatersrand will tomorrow confer an honorary doctorate on Dr Meyya Meyyappan, chief scientist for Exploration Technology at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), recognising his excellence in research and dedication to public service.
Meyyappan is an internationally recognised researcher and pioneer in the field of nanotechnology. He was responsible for the first and only nanotechnology product to be flown to outer space aboard a satellite when the Navy tested the nanochemical sensors from his group in 2007. Later this sensor was used for crew cabin air quality monitoring in the International Space Station.
He is a tireless volunteer who educates students, the public, and professionals in the field of nanotechnology. Meyyappan is an active collaborator of the Wits School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering. He recognises that South African coal has tremendous potential as a source to produce carbon nanotubes, the wonder material of the 21st Century. This innovative idea has resulted in an ongoing project at Wits, in collaboration with the local industry. New reactors have been designed and built at Wits and a patent has been filed.
Meyyappan is the recipient of many awards for his technical excellence in nanotechnology and educational and public service, including NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal; the Engineer of the Year Award by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; the Arthur Flemming Award by the Arthur Flemming Foundation and George Washington University, Distinguished Engineering Achievement Award by the Engineers’ Council, and the Pioneer Award in Nanotechnology by the IEEE.
In 2009 he was inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame and is an elected Fellow of six professional societies, among many other accolades that recognise his contribution.