The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents this week voted to approve the nomination of CEE Professor Dr. Armistead (Ted) Russell for the honor of Regents Professor.
The Regents Professor designation is reserved for tenured full professors whose scholarship, research, and other contributions to their field have been recognized as exemplary by their peers. The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering last hosted a Regents Professor with the tenure of the late George F. Sowers.
When announcement of the Board of Regents vote was made public, many of his CEE colleagues joined in praising Russell, who has been a CEE faculty member since 1996.
“I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this honor than Ted,” said Karen and John Huff School Chair Dr. Reginald DesRoches. “His work has had significant impacts at the state, national, and international levels and has formed the foundation for an entire body of research on the impact of air quality on public health. Few, if any, have had as much impact on the field as Ted.”
College of Engineering Dean Gary May endorsed the Regents’ decision as well.
“Dr. Russell has created an excellent record of scholarship, education, and service. His research has driven significant advances in air quality regulation in the state, the nation, and around the world. He is an outstanding mentor to students, research staff, and faculty.”
Internationally renowned for his prolific scholarship and research, Russell has published nearly 400 journal and conference papers, several books, and many book chapters – all of which have earned him more than 6,000 citations and an H-factor of 41 (a number rarely found among engineers in his field). He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a National Associate of the National Academies and is one of only five finalists for the Smithsonian’s Scientific Computation Award.
In nominating Russell for this honor, his colleagues recognized his demo
nstrated dedication to public health. Russell has played a leadership role on a number of national and international committees dealing with air quality, including the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the National Particle Toxicity Report Review Committee, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Subcommittee on Atmospheric Monitoring and Methods, the EPA Council on Clean Air Compliance Analysis, and the EPA Clear Air Scientific Advisory Committee.
On the Georgia Tech campus, Russell’s role as a mentor and teacher are well recognized. The recipient of the 2008 Institute Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award, he has mentored 32 Ph.D. students, 13 post-docs, and 28 master’s students. He also holds the Howard T. Tellepsen Chair within the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Notified of his appointment, Russell was reluctant to lay claim to all of the accolades that followed.
“I love what I do, and, in some ways, I would be happier to do it without any public notoriety – in the dark,” he said.
“And if you look at what I’ve been able to accomplish, you’ll see that it’s often been a team effort, between myself and other faculty in CEE and with professors in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and certainly with our colleagues at Emory. And then there are the students. I’ve been able to work with some of the brightest minds, and they’ve gone on to do tremendous things. “
The Regents also voted to approve the nominations of three other Georgia Tech honorees: Dr. Scott S. Blair (Regents Researcher) and Dr. Andres Garcia (Regents Professor) both, from the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and Dr. William L. Melvin (Regents Researcher), from the Georgia Tech Research Institute. All four will be formally recognized by the Board of Regents at a ceremony to be held in March, 2014.