Professor Robert Dell, ASME Fellow, Director of the Laboratory for Energy Reclamation and Innovation, received the highly prestigious 2023 Cobb Partnership Award, co-managed by the Cobbs, the U.S. Embassy, and the Fulbright Commission in Iceland.

The  Cobb Partnership Award was established in 1991 by U.S. Ambassador Charles Cobb and his wife Ambassador Sue Cobb. The award is presented on average bi-annually to an American who has demonstrated a long commitment to fostering U.S. relations with Iceland and to the building of bridges between the two countries.That same year, Ambassador Charles Cobb and Ambassador Sue Cobb presented the City of Reykjavik with the statue Partnership, commemorating 50 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Iceland. 

According to the US Embassy in Iceland, “This prestigious award recognizes Americans who have demonstrated a deep commitment to fostering U.S. relations with Iceland and building bridges between our two countries. Robert is a distinguished professor of mechanical engineering at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, an educational institution in New York.”

At the reception, honored guests included former prime ministers Davíð Oddsson and Geir Haarde, and Iceland’s Foreign Minister Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir.

The Fulbright Iceland Commission posted the following: Robert Dell is a geothermal sculptor, Founding Director of the Laboratory for Energy Reclamation and Innovation and Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. His distinguished career is recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers who elected him a Fellow for his significant contributions to sustainable engineering. He has held numerous research and academic appointments from MIT, the New York Botanical Garden, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He is first inventor on 11 registered patents and has authored numerous award-winning peer reviewed research papers. The Smithsonian Institute has established the “Robert Dell Papers” as a permanent archive.

Professor Dell’s relationship with Iceland spans over three decades, starting with a Fulbright Research grant in 1988. He has returned Iceland numerous times and built successful relationships both in the arts and science. He established formal ties with a number of Icelandic institutions and has an impressive research record with Icelandic colleagues, resulting in more than 30 research papers. Robert was an ASF Fellow to Iceland in 1999-2000, a consultant to the town of Hveragerði 2014-2017, a Visiting Scientist at Keilir Educational Center and is currently affiliated with the University of Iceland Faculty of Industrial Engineering. He has also worked on research administered by the Agricultural University of Iceland, funded by Reykjavík Energy. Professor Dell has negotiated affiliations and arranged formal exchange agreements with these three institutions, enabling over 70 Cooper Union engineering students to conduct summer research in Iceland.

He has had solo installations at the Reykjavík Art Museum, Akureyri Art Museum, Geysir Nature Conservation Area, Perlan, and Seltun Hot Springs. He also exhibited geothermal powered work inspired by Iceland in the United States at MIT, Yellowstone National Park, Harvard, Tufts, The Cooper Union, and Vorpal Gallery in New York City.

Read more about Professor Dell and his achievements here.