PACK POINTS
A star for service
Dr. John Muth (left) with U.S. Army Major General James Milano.
Rocket attacks. Kidnapping threats. Suicide bombers.
Life was not easy for Dr. John Muth during his recent tour of duty as a U.S. Navy reservist in Iraq. For 12 months, the associate professor of electrical and computer engineering led a team of 30 civilians, military personnel and translators in providing advice and support to Iraq’s Ministry of the Interior.
For his efforts, Muth received a Bronze Star, an honor rarely awarded to Naval officers because relatively few of them have been assigned to combat zones in Iraq. Muth’s service included performing more than 100 missions, installing a system of human rights inspections at pre-trial detention centers and setting up the ministry’s court systems.
But the dangers of Iraq were never far from his mind.
“There is a lot of assassination, murder and kidnapping that can be either ideologically or financially motivated,” Muth said. “A lot of the people I worked with were specifically targeted by insurgents. The courage of the Iraqis I worked with who were trying to improve their country was impressive.”
Nevertheless, Muth was able to keep up with the work of his students, participating in six defenses of master’s theses and doctoral dissertations during various breaks from his tour. He also reviewed papers bound for scientific journals.
Since returning to Raleigh, Muth has resumed his teaching and research in nanoelectronics and photonics, for which he has received awards from the National Academy of Engineering, the Office of Naval Research and other agencies. He holds six patents and has more than 90 journal publications to his credit.
“I enjoy the intellectual challenges of the university and the academic
freedom to research subjects I choose,” Muth said. 