Shane Ross, professor of aerospace and ocean engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been appointed the Roanoke Electric Steel Chair of Engineering.
The Roanoke Electric Steel Chair in Engineering was established with generous gifts from the Roanoke Steel Corporation in 1976.
Ross is internationally recognized for his pioneering contributions across an extraordinary range of interdisciplinary fields, including control theory, dynamical systems, space mission design, chaotic fluid dynamics, environmental transport of microorganisms, and the biomechanics of living systems. He is equally committed to public outreach, with a strong record of making complex scientific topics accessible through popular science articles and an engaging online presence.
Over his career, Ross has secured $17 million in research funding from a wide variety of funding sources. He has mentored 16 Ph.D.s and three postdoctoral scholars — one-third of whom have gone on to faculty positions — and published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles with over 7,700 citations. Known for his creative and effective teaching, Ross consistently earns outstanding evaluations in both undergraduate and graduate courses.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and Ph.D. in control and dynamical systems, both from the California Institute of Technology.
By Anne Kroemer Hoffman