The National Academy of Engineering ( The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is the highest academic institution for engineering in the United States and one of the four national academies (the other three are the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Science Research Council). The Academy is a private, not-for-profit academic institution in engineering. The three highest awards in engineering in the United States (the Rath Prize, the Gordon Prize, and the Charles Stark Draper Prize) are all awarded by the Academy of Engineering.