Princeton professor pleased by appointment to pontifical academy

Published: 2008-01-15

PRINCETON, N.J. (CNS) -- Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe smiled as he spoke about the two occasions he will have to see Pope Benedict XVI this year. For the first occasion, Rodriguez-Iturbe plans to be "somewhere high up in the bleachers," among the thousands expected to converge on Yankee Stadium in New York when the pope celebrates Mass there April 20. Six months later, the circumstances will be much more personal and humbling. That is when Rodriguez-Iturbe, the James S. McDonnell distinguished university professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton University, will be present for a papal audience at the Vatican and formally received by the pope as a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Sitting in his office at Princeton Jan. 11, Rodriguez-Iturbe expressed his delight and how "surprised" he was to receive the prestigious honor by the pontiff.

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