Engineering Dean Named Among Nation’s Top Inventors

December 12, 2017 | Elizabeth Thiel Mather, emather@virginia.edu

In Charlottesville, Craig H. Benson is best known as an accomplished researcher and dean of the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science. Around the globe, he will go down in history as the engineer who developed a brilliant way to use natural processes to prevent landfills from leaking pollutants into groundwater.

For this and many other innovations that have revolutionized his field of geoenvironmental engineering, Benson has been elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He has been a member of the National Academy of Engineering since 2012. Together, the designations place Benson in the top echelon of engineering leaders worldwide.

“I want people to think of me as an environmental gatekeeper – someone who saw the need for a natural world that is clean and healthy, and who also saw the need for an economy and industries that allow us to thrive,” Benson said. “People who make a difference understand that we can have both.” <more>