Two FSU professors earn prestigious honor from engineering society

Two professors from Florida State University's College of Arts and Sciences have been named fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) — a professional association dedicated to the advancement of technology.

Professor of Statistics Anuj Srivastava and Professor of Computer Science David Whalley were recognized for extraordinary accomplishments in their areas of expertise. It’s a rare distinction. The IEEE has more than 400,000 members in 160 countries; fewer than one-tenth of 1 percent are elevated to the grade of fellow each year.

Srivastava and Whalley are only the third and fourth Florida State faculty members to achieve this status.

“I am very pleased,” said Whalley, a Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Computer Science who has worked at Florida State since 1990. “It’s quite an honor. I am very happy about that.”

Whalley was recognized for his contributions to architectural and compilation techniques to meet the constraints of embedded systems. He focuses on techniques for microprocessors embedded in products such as appliances, cars and smartphones. Whalley designs new ways to produce microprocessors that offer better performance, use less energy and require less space.

Whalley earned a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in 1990 and joined FSU’s Computer Science department as an assistant professor that same year. He has been the E.P. Miles Professor of Computer Science since 2003. He received a Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award in 2011 and became a distinguished member of the Association for Computing Machinery in 2013.

Srivastava, also a Distinguished Research Professor at Florida State, was recognized for his contributions to differential geometric and statistical techniques in shape analysis. Those techniques have proven valuable in several scientific disciplines, including medical diagnosis, human biometrics and computer vision.

“I feel honored to be selected for this status,” Srivastava said. “IEEE is a large organization making important contributions to society. I have grown up admiring fellows of IEEE, so this feels very special.”

Srivastava earned a Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1996. He joined the Department of Statistics at FSU as an assistant professor in 1997, became a full professor in 2007 and a Distinguished Research Professor in 2014. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and co-authored the textbook “Functional and Shape Data Analysis.”

The IEEE is the leading professional association working to develop new technology that benefits people around the world. Its members have made groundbreaking advances in a variety of fields, including aerospace systems, biomedical engineering, computers and consumer electronics. The grade of fellow has been bestowed upon select members of the IEEE since 1912.

For more information, visit www.ieee.org.