Carlos Cabrera (BSCHE 1973), executive chairman of the board of directors of Genomatica Inc., was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering on February 9. Mr. Cabrera received induction “For leadership in developing and commercializing widely adopted processes for fuels and intermediate chemicals.”
Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature" and to "the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."
“Many congratulations to Carlos Cabrera on his induction into the National Academy of Engineering!” said University Alumni Professor of Chemical Engineering Dibakar Bhattacharyya. “His fuel and energy-related engineering and commercial advancements are immense. This brings immense happiness to me since I have known him since the early 70s.”
Mr. Cabrera worked at UOP LCC, now a Honeywell company, from 1973 to 2009. He served as chairman, president and chief executive officer from 2005 to 2009, strengthening UOP’s position as the leading licensor of chemistry-based technology to oil and gas firms worldwide. Mr. Cabrera served as an independent director for Ivanhoe Energy from 2010 to 2015, as well as executive chairman from 2011 to 2015; independent director for Gevo from 2010 to 2015 and president and chief executive officer of the National Institute of Clean and Low Carbon Energy from 2009 to 2011. In addition to his chemical engineering degree from UK, Mr. Cabrera received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago.
Mr. Cabrera is a distinguished associate at FGE, a global energy consultancy, and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Gas Technology Institute. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Chemical Engineering Department at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is also a Board Member of the Loker Institute at the University of Southern California.
Among Mr. Cabrera’s awards and recognition, he was awarded the 2007 Fuels and Petrochemicals Division Leadership Award by The American Institute of Chemical Engineers in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the advancement of the fuels and petrochemical industry. He also received the Honeywell 2008 Senior Leadership Award, the company’s highest honor awarded to Honeywell leaders. Mr. Cabrera was added to the 2009 Hispanic Business Magazine’s Corporate Elite; he has also received an Honorary ISA Lifetime Membership from the Instrument Society of America. The. U.S. Patent Office has granted him nine patents. The UK College of Engineering inducted Mr. Cabrera into its Hall of Distinction in 2006.
Individuals in the newly elected class will be formally inducted during the NAE's annual meeting on Oct. 3, 2021. A list of the new members and international members follows, with their primary affiliations at the time of election and a brief statement of their principal engineering accomplishments.