With this appointment, Yang joins AE professors Ahuja, Lieuwen, Mavris, Sankar, and Zinn, all previously named Regents Professors
Regents Professor and NAE Member Vigor Yang
Dr. Vigor Yang
Regents Professor

The University System of Georgia (USG)'s Board of Regents announced that it has named Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering professor Vigor Yang to a Regents Professorship.

This year, Yang is one of seven Georgia Tech professors to receive the title which is bestowed upon faculty whose careers demonstrate distinction and achievement in teaching and scholarly research. Joining him in this honor are:

  • Marilyn Brown, Brook Byers Professor in Sustainable Manufacturing - School of Public Policy
  • Suresh Sitaraman, Morris M. Bryan Jr. Professor -George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
  • Jeffrey Skolnick, Mary and Maisie Gibson Chair -  School of Biological Sciences
  • Prasad Tetali, professor- School of Mathematics and the School of Computer Science
  • Lisa Yaszek, professor - School of Literature, Media, and Communication
  • Ellen Zegura, Stephen Fleming Chair - School of Computer Science

"I am most humbled by this recognition, which speaks to my work with the amazingly talented faculty and students at Georgia Tech -- an institution that is world-renowned in the field of aerospace engineering," said Yang. "My goal is to embody the spirit of hard work and innovation that my colleagues model daily, as I continue my work with the Institute."

A member of the National Academy of Engineering and a former chair of the AE School, Yang has established a robust research program at Georgia Tech. His work encompasses a wide spectrum of inquiry, including data science,  combustion dynamics, multi-fidelity modeling and simulations of fluid flows, combustion of energetic materials, and nano technologies. He has served as the principal or co-principal investigator on more than 70 research projects, edited numerous academic and technical journals and is widely published as both a book and paper author. Among his previous awards and recognitions are the 2016 von Karman Lectureship in Astronautics Award, the 2014 Worcester Reed Warner Medal, and a 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Joint Army, Navy, NASA and Air Force Interagency Propulsion Committee. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Royal   Aeronautical Society.

With the Board of Regents' most recent announcement, Yang joins his AE colleagues Prof. Krishan Ahuja, Prof. Tim Lieuwen, Prof. Dimitri Mavris, Prof. Lakshmi Sankar, and Professor Emeritus Ben T. Zinn, all whom were previously named Regents Professors.

AE School chair Mark Costello hailed the news of his predecessor's latest honor.

"It is terrific to see Vigor Yang recognized as a Regents Professor. It is the highest honor awarded to professors for their teaching and research accomplishments and is very much befitting of Professor Yang," he said. .

Each year, the college deans may nominate two academic faculty members for the Regents Professor title and one research faculty member for the Regents Researcher title. The Georgia Tech Research Institute may nominate two research faculty members for Regents Researcher. The titles are awarded upon approval by the USG chancellor and its Committee on Academic Affairs only with unanimous recommendation by the university’s president, the executive vice president for research, the chief academic officer, the appropriate academic dean, and three other faculty members.