Congratualtions to Assistant Professor Aiping Yao

Engineering professor wins premier SCSU research prize

Assistant Professor Aiping Yao, electrical and computer engineering, has been awarded the 2006 Lowell Hellervik Research Prize, St. Cloud State University’s premier prize for research.

Yao will use the $7,500 award to pursue his project on “Ultrasound Signal Processing for Soft-Tissue Characterization” to develop the university’s ultrasound signal processing capabilities to enhance faculty and student research. Yao is working with SCSU Professor Yi Zheng, electrical and computer engineering, and researchers from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., on developing non-invasive techniques to examine diseased tissues.

Yao, born in JiuJiang, China, has a bachelor’s degree from Peking University and a doctorate from the Beijing Institute of Technology. Since he joined SCSU in 1999, Yao has pursued his research interests in digital communications, wireless communications, digital signal processing and ultrasound signal processing.

The university established its premier prize for research as the result of an endowment of $160,000 by Dr. Lowell Hellervik, a graduate and SCSU Foundation Board member. The prize is intended to encourage scholarly activity that holds the potential to advance knowledge on issues of importance to society and to earn external financial support. Awards are made to faculty members, but can also be used as stipends for graduate and undergraduate students working alongside a professor.