Faculty Earn Presidential Early Career Awards

Yuejie Chi, Po-Shen Loh honored for their research

Two outstanding young Carnegie Mellon University faculty members, Yuejie Chi and Po-Shen Loh, have received the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

The PECASE is the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government to outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent research careers and who show exceptional promise for leadership in science and technology.

Chi is an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering in CMU's College of Engineering and holds the Robert E. Doherty Early Career Professorship. Her research is motivated by the challenge of extracting information embedded in a large amount of data, as well as collecting data efficiently to gather actionable information. Her research interests include signal processing, machine learning, large-scale optimization, and their applications in data science, inverse problems, imaging and sensing systems.

Chi has earned numerous awards in her career thus far. She received the NSF CAREER Award in 2017, Young Investigator Program awards from AFOSR and ONR in 2015, the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from Oak Ridge Associated Universities in 2014, the Google Faculty Research Award in 2013, and the Roberto Padovani Scholarship from Qualcomm Inc. in 2010.

Loh is an associate professor of mathematical sciences and a global ambassador for mathematics. He travels the world giving talks to diverse audiences, from fellow mathematicians to high school students. Loh is head coach of the U.S. International Mathematical Olympiad team, which has won three world mathematics titles in the last four years.

Loh is a mathematician who focuses his research on the intersection of discrete systems, probability and computer science. He recently attended the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of New Champions in Dalian, China, as a member of the Forum's Young Scientists community.

Established in 1996, the PECASE acknowledges the contributions scientists and engineers have made to the advancement of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, and to community service as demonstrated by scientific leadership, public education and community outreach. The awards are conferred annually at the White House following recommendations from participating departments and agencies. This year's recipients will be honored at a July 25 ceremony in Washington, D.C.