Mumbai-raised Engineer Azad Madni wins John Fritz Medal

Washington: Indian-American engineer Azad M. Madni, a University Professor at the University of Southern California (USC), has been awarded the 2026 John Fritz Medal, often called the ‘Nobel Prize of Engineering’.

Established in 1902, the medal honours leaders whose work has advanced human progress. Past recipients include Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Claude Shannon, Gordon Moore, Andrew Viterbi and Elon Musk, USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering said.

Madni, executive director of USC’s Systems Architecting and Engineering Program, was recognised for pioneering contributions to transdisciplinary systems engineering, the university said.

His citation recognises his “pioneering advances in transdisciplinary systems engineering through exploitation of disciplinary convergence, augmented intelligence, green learning, and interactive storytelling in virtual worlds”.

“Professor Madni’s pioneering work has helped transform how we design complex systems, and this extraordinary honour is a fitting recognition of the innovation, imagination, and impact that have defined his illustrious career,” said USC President Beong-Soo Kim.

Gaurav Sukhatme, interim dean of the Viterbi School, noted that the school’s namesake, Andrew Viterbi, received the medal in 2011.

“Professor Madni’s recognition continues this remarkable legacy of engineering innovation at USC,” Sukhatme said.

Madni grew up in Mumbai, where he attended St. Mary’s High School and studied science at St. Xavier’s College.

He has said that President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 speech on going to the Moon inspired him to pursue aerospace. He came to the United States in 1965 to study engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he earned his bachelor’s (1968), master’s (1971) and doctoral (1978) degrees.

He has recalled that he had to pursue a doctorate to get a green card. “At that time, the only option available to get a green card was to pursue a doctorate, with proof of two-year self-support,” he said in the IEEE oral history.

At Rockwell International, he worked on NASA’s Space Shuttle programme, developing a model-based approach to testing the shuttle’s navigation system.

He later led research at Perceptronics and in 1994 founded Intelligent Systems Technology, Inc. He joined USC in 2009.

A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Madni has also received the NAE Gordon Prize, the IEEE Simon Ramo Medal and the ASME Spirit of St. Louis Medal. He holds joint and courtesy appointments in engineering, medicine and education at USC, and is the Northrop Grumman Foundation Fred O’Green Chair in Engineering.

IANS