The next few weeks will be tense at the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) as its 1,840 members decide by mail ballot whether to remove Harold Liebowitz as academy president. Liebowitz—resisting earlier efforts to force his resignation—has refused to step down and is expected to take legal steps to halt what amounts to an impeachment effort. Ballots are due by June 14, less than three weeks before July 1, when Alan M. Lovelace will take office as chairman of NAE's council. Lovelace—an aeronautical materials engineer with a Ph.D. in organic chemistry—will have the job of restoring peace to the troubled 33-year-old academy. He was elected late last month, succeeding Norman R. Augustine, chairman of Lockheed-Martin Corp. Lovelace won by a vote of 645 to 368 over Augustine—who wasn't even on the ballot and was a reluctant, latehour write-in candidate. Last Thursday, NAE's council agreed unanimously to let members vote on whether to oust Liebowitz from ...