Professor Jan Allebach has received the Distinguished Achievement Award for alumni from the University of Delaware's College of Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering. He was also the distinguished lecturer for the evening. His lecture was titled "Digital Printing: The Transformation of a 2,000-Year Old Technology and What It Means to You".

The Distinguished Achievement Award is the most prestigious honor bestowed upon alumni of the ECE Department. Individuals receiving this award have distinguished themselves through notable significant contributions in engineering research, practice, education, or business.

Jan P. Allebach, a University of Delaware EE alum ('72) is the Hewlett-Packard Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University. He holds courtesy appointments in Computer Science and Psychological Sciences. Technologies developed in his laboratory have been licensed to major vendors of printers, and can be found in products that have sold 100’s of millions of units. Allebach is a Fellow of the IEEE, the Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T), and SPIE. He was named Electronic Imaging Scientist of the Year by IS&T and SPIE, and was named Honorary Member of IS&T, the highest award that IS&T bestows.

He is the recipient of the IEEE Daniel E. Noble Award (a Technical Field Award), and was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering, both for his work on digital halftoning. Most recently, he was elected to membership in the National Academy of Inventors, on the basis of his patent portfolio. From Purdue University, he has received ten different awards for teaching, mentorship, and research.