Saifur Rahman
NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION, Sept. 27, 2010 – Saifur Rahman, professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering and director of the Advanced Research Institute, National Capital Region, at Virginia Tech, was recently reappointed the Joseph R. Loring Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The Joseph R. Loring Professorship of Electrical and Computer Engineering was established by Loring of Arlington, Va., in 2003 to support research excellence. A 1947 graduate of the Harry Lynde Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Loring founded Joseph R. Loring and Associates Inc., now called LORING, a worldwide engineering firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. The appointment is for five years.
Rahman has been a member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 1979. In his first term as the Loring Professor, he continued his strong record of research, teaching, and service. He received grants and contracts totaling $2.5 million from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and Department of Defense to conduct research on alternative energy and energy efficiency.
In addition to his research, he developed and teaches an online course on alternative energy that typically enrolls approximately 150 students each time it is offered.
Rahman serves the professional and local communities in many ways, including serving as vice president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Power and Energy Society, editor in chief of the IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy, and series editor for an IEEE online tutorial package on the smart grid.
In addition, he serves the National Science Foundation as a member of the Office of International Science and Engineering Advisory Committee and as a member of the Government Performance Results Act Advisory Committee. He also is a member of the Arlington County, Va., task force on sustainable energy.
Rahman received his master’s degree from the State University of New York and his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech.
The College of Engineering at Virginia Tech is internationally recognized for its excellence in 14 engineering disciplines and computer science. The college's 6,000 undergraduates benefit from an innovative curriculum that provides a "hands-on, minds-on" approach to engineering education, complementing classroom instruction with two unique design-and-build facilities and a strong Cooperative Education Program. With more than 50 research centers and numerous laboratories, the college offers its 2,000 graduate students opportunities in advanced fields of study such as biomedical engineering, state-of-the-art microelectronics, and nanotechnology. Virginia Tech, the most comprehensive university in Virginia, is dedicated to quality, innovation, and results to the commonwealth, the nation, and the world.