UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Two Penn State faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Members of the class of 2026 include Barbara J. Arnold, chair and professor of practice of mining engineering in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, and Qiming Zhang, Harvey F. Brush Chair and Professor of Electrical Engineering.
“Academy membership recognizes engineers who have made outstanding contributions to their field,” said Andrew Read, Penn State’s senior vice president for research. “Dr. Arnold is developing new pathways for reducing the toxicity of respirable dust and methods for the recovery of critical minerals from mining wastes, breakthroughs that have far‑reaching effects on energy, worker safety and resource management. Dr. Zhang is translating innovations into real‑world technologies such as materials that harvest energy from movement and cool electronics without refrigerants. Their work reflects the power of discovery happening across our campuses every day and we are proud to see their contributions recognized.”
Arnold and Zhang are among the 130 new U.S. members and 28 international members to its class of 2026, bringing the total number of U.S. members to 2,534 and the number of international members to 356. Their election brings the number of Penn State’s living NAE members to 16.
“Election to the National Academy of Engineering is the highest professional honor accorded to an engineer in the United States. … [it] is both a distinguished career milestone and a call to service,” NAE President Tsu-Jae Liu said in a statement announcing the new members. “It recognizes engineers whose technical achievements and leadership have made a lasting impact. These accomplished engineers join a community dedicated to advancing the nation’s well-being and promoting public understanding and appreciation of engineering.”
Arnold is a professor of practice in mining engineering at Penn State with nearly four decades of experience in the coal and mineral industries. She holds a bachelor of science in mining engineering, a master of science in mineral processing and a doctorate in mineral processing, all from Penn State. Her expertise includes the application of coal and mineral processing technologies to current plant operations and to new challenges in critical minerals, including dewatering technologies, and the application of surface chemistry to issues related to respirable dust to prevent lung diseases.
Before joining Penn State’s faculty in 2020, she spent over 20 years representing coal and mineral processing equipment companies and consulting for U.S. coal firms and engineering contractors, focusing on flowsheet development for coal preparation plants. She also founded and led PrepTech, Inc., an engineering services and mineral processing equipment company, and gained industry insight through research and development roles involving coal cleaning technologies and industrial coal properties.
Today, Arnold conducts research in critical minerals from mine wastes, coal processing, and reducing the toxicity of respirable dust from mining and processing to prevent black lung and silicosis. She is an active member of the University’s Center for Critical Minerals (C2M). She has held leadership roles in the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc., including as president in 2018, and the Coal Preparation Society of America, including as secretary. Arnold is an honorary member of the American Institute for Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers and was recognized as a Penn State Alumni Fellow in 2011.
She was elected to NAE for “application of mineral processing fundamentals in coal preparation, respirable dust evaluation and recovery of critical minerals from mining wastes,” according to the organization.
Zhang is Harvey F. Brush Chair and professor of electrical engineering at Penn State, where he is also affiliated with the University’s Materials Research Institute and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He works with advanced electronic materials used to make sensors, tiny machines and flexible devices, such as special plastics that can store electrical energy or change shape when electricity is applied.
Much of Zhang's research focuses on creating extremely small devices, including miniature actuators and sensors, key parts of electronic systems that detect changes in the environment or move in very precise ways. He has also developed new thin‑film materials and nanomaterials that can store energy or turn it into usable power, which are important for improving batteries and energy‑efficient technologies. He holds 15 patents for inventions related to materials and devices.
Zhang was named a National Academy of Inventors Fellow in 2024, the highest professional distinction for academic inventors. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electronic physics from Nanjing University and his doctorate in physics from Penn State. He is a fellow of both the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Physical Society.
Zhang was elected to NAE for “inventing relaxor ferroelectric polymers for generating large electroactuation, giant electrocaloric effect, high piezoelectric coupling and their commercialization,” the organization said in a statement.
Founded in 1964, the NAE is tasked with providing independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation’s leaders in government, business and technology. Members are elected by their peers and individuals elected to the class of 2026 will be formally inducted during the NAE annual meeting in the fall.