July 9, 2019
Todd Humphreys, an associate professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics in the Cockrell School of Engineering, is one of five faculty members at The University of Texas at Austin selected to receive a Presidential Early Career award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for 2019. The PECASE is the highest honor given by the United States government to scientists and engineers beginning their research careers.
UT Austin is one of only eight U.S. universities to receive five or more of these awards. Universities in Texas received 11 PECASE awards overall, the remaining six going to professors at other University of Texas System schools, Rice University, Southern Methodist University and Baylor University. Recipients are chosen by the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies.
In addition to Humphreys, the other four UT Austin recipients include Whitney Behr, Jackson School of Geosciences; Namkee Choi, Steve Hicks School of Social Work; James Howison, School of Information; and Sarah Powell, College of Education.
“Whitney, Namkee, James, Todd and Sarah have each made remarkable research discoveries that are reshaping the way we understand, and interact with, our world and society,” said UT Austin President Gregory Fenves. “These faculty members have established themselves as leaders across a wide range of disciplines, and we look forward to even more accomplishments from them in the future."
Humphreys directs the Radionavigation Laboratory at UT Austin and specializes in satellite navigation, collision avoidance and autonomous systems. He leads efforts to protect autonomous control systems — the systems used by autonomous cars and aircraft — from malicious attacks and is an expert on GPS, developments in geolocation and their security implications.
Humphreys is a recipient of the UT Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award (2012), the NSF CAREER Award (2015) and the Institute of Navigation Thurlow Award (2015). He joined the Cockrell School of Engineering in Fall 2009.
