Spectrum - Volume 17 Issue 04 September 15, 1994 - Liu chosen presidential fellow

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Liu chosen presidential fellow

Spectrum Volume 17 Issue 4 - September 15, 1994

President Clinton has named Yilu Liu, assistant professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical Engineering at Virginia Tech, as one of only 15 recipients of the 1994 Presidential Faculty Fellow Awards for engineering research.

Along with the award, Liu will receive a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant of $100,000 per year for up to five years for her research on electric power systems.

The awards are presented annually to 15 engineering and 15 scientific faculty members nationwide to recognize excellence and promise in research.

Since Liu joined the Virginia Tech faculty in 1990, she has received other NSF grants for her research, including the prestigious NSF Young Investigator Award in 1993. Her research findings have been implemented by several power companies nationwide.

As a presidential faculty fellow, Liu will continue her research in electric power systems, power quality, and diagnosis. Liu said that the long-term goal of her research is to help improve the overall reliability and safety of the nation's electric power systems.

Award recipients are expected to design and conduct their own research and teaching projects. However, the engineers and scientists may be called upon at times for advice and service in their research areas by the U.S. government.

Liu said she will continue to teach full-time at Virginia Tech while a presidential faculty fellow. "I am committed to excellence in teaching and to transferring my love for this profession as life-long goals," she said. Part of Liu's work while at Virginia Tech has been development of new electrical-engineering classes and laboratory courses.

F. William Stephenson, dean of the College of Engineering, praised Liu as a researcher with great potential, and as a teacher who "puts strong emphasis on training students to learn, to think independently, and to do research."