Ying Huang, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been appointed to a newly-established fellowship in the NDSU College of Engineering.
Huang joined the faculty at NDSU in 2012 after earning her doctorate from the Missouri University of Science and Technology. She was named the inaugural holder of the Welch Faculty Fellowship during a ceremony at the NDSU McGovern Alumni Center. The position is supported by the Timothy Welch and Donna LaQua-Welch Faculty Excellence Fund.
“I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the award donors, Tim and Donna, for their generous support,” Huang said. “This award will significantly benefit my research and teaching at NDSU. It allows me to support graduate and undergraduate researchers, upgrade lab equipment and fund K-12 outreach activities.”
In her time at NDSU, Huang has secured more than $2.5 million in funding for research involving intelligent transportation systems, smart materials and structural health monitoring and was awarded a 2018 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER grant, the foundation’s most prestigious award in support of early career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education. She’s also received high marks for her teaching and serves as an adviser and mentor to several graduate students and undergraduate research assistants.
“This award starts a new culture in the college to recognize and support faculty success,” Huang said. “And the culture to encourage faculty excellence will certainly echo with more and more nationally recognized faculty staying at NDSU to serve our students, our state and the nation.”
Timothy Welch, who graduated from NDSU in 1986 with a degree in civil engineering, created the new fellowship with his wife, Donna, to help College of Engineering faculty take their innovative research to the next level and build on the success of their strong educational programming.
“Our faculty at NDSU are dedicated to professional excellence and without them, NDSU would be just another university,” Welch said.
Faculty fellowships are awarded to accomplished scholars to advance research, education and outreach. NDSU benefactors who establish faculty fellowships provide a minimum of $30,000 in annual funding for at least five years. Securing them is a priority of the university and college.
“Fellowships are critical to recruiting and retaining top faculty and to providing the best educational experiences possible,” NDSU President Dean L. Bresciani said.
“The single most important asset of the College of Engineering is its faculty,” said Michael Kessler, dean of the College of Engineering. “They drive innovation that will shape a better world and mentor the next generation of engineering leaders.
The Welch fellowship was established through the NDSU Foundation and Alumni Association.
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