Dr. Lijun Qian, AT&T Endowed Professor in Prairie View A&M University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received The Texas A&M University System’s Regents Professor Award. Along with Qian, the Board of Regents designated 14 other faculty members and seven agency service, extension or research professionals within the A&M System as Regents Professors and Regents Fellows for 2017-2018. Each year, the A&M System’s Board of Regents honors professors who have had exemplary performances in teaching, research, and service.

“These outstanding individuals are doing incredible work on behalf of the A&M System and the entire state of Texas,” said A&M System Chancellor John Sharp. “They exemplify the values and commitment to excellence that defines the A&M System, and I am grateful for their dedication.”

During Qian’s 15-year tenure at PVAMU, he has played a leadership role in developing the Ph.D. program in Electrical Engineering and establishing the five-year BS/MS program. He has secured more than $15 million in research funding for the university and created PVAMU’s Center of Excellence in Research and Education for Big Military Data Intelligence (CREDIT Center) where he serves as principal investigator and director.

“The Regents Award is the highest honor granted to a faculty member by the A&M System,” said Dr. James Palmer, interim provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs at PVAMU. “Dr. Qian and the team at the CREDIT Center are leading developments at PVAMU in big data science and deep learning for artificial intelligence (AI),” he added. “This effort is transforming our university into a leader in big data science and AI.”

“I am very encouraged by this recognition,” Qian said, “and I am looking forward to continuing our efforts to improve teaching, research, and service at PVAMU further.”

The Board established the Regents Professor Awards program in 1996 and the Regents Fellow Service Awards program in 1998. To date, 239 A&M system faculty members have received the Regents Professor Award, with 142 agency professionals having earned the Regents Fellow Service Award. The award carries with it a monetary stipend of $15,000.

By Marchita Shilo