MSE Alumna Elected to NAE

MSE alumna Carolyn Duran has received the prestigious honor of election to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.

Duran (MSE ‘92) was appointed to the role of Senior Director of Product Integrity at Apple in 2023, where she leads a global team of approximately 350 technologists focused on analysis and compliance engineering for Apple’s hardware products. Prior to joining Apple, she worked at Intel Corporation for 25 years, most recently as Vice President of Components Research, where she led advanced process and materials research and defined strategies for external engagements to deliver new innovations and capabilities.

Duran’s career has spanned technology development and supply chain, including responsible minerals and a corporate charter enabling memory and IO technologies in product groups. She has been recognized as an industry leader, as she was named to Fast Company's "Most Creative People in Business 1000" list in 2016 and ranked second on Business Insider's "Most Powerful Women Engineers in the World" in 2014. She holds five patents in the area of semiconductor process engineering.

Duran held the role of president of the Materials Research Society (MRS) in 2022, and has also served in various roles for the Responsible Business Alliance and Responsible Minerals Initiative. At CMU, she served on the MSE Alumni Advisory Council from 2017-2018. 

After receiving her bachelor’s degree at CMU, Duran went on to earn her Ph.D. from Northwestern University, where she is now also an adjunct professor of materials science and engineering.