News>>Pravin Varaiya Awarded Berkeley Citation

Pravin Varaiya, the Nortel Networks Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, and former Director of the California PATH program, was awarded the Berkeley Citation in June.

In nominating Varaiya for the award, Edward Lee, chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, praised Varaiya’s “ethics-driven approach to engineering, setting a high standard and inculcating his students with a healthy skepticism.” He also described as “seminal” Varaiya’s work in a number of areas, including optimization, optimal control, and adaptive control of Markov chains.

Varaiya’s current research is concerned with transportation, hybrid systems and communication networks. Applications of his work range from wireless networks to urban economics and power systems. From 1975 to 1992 he was also a professor of economics at Berkeley.

The “Centennial Citation” was created when the University of California celebrated its 100th birthday in 1967-68. It is periodically awarded to members of the university community, including faculty whose work has a broad impact within and beyond the university, as well as a record of notable service.

In addition to the Berkeley Citation, Varaiya’s honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, Honorary Doctorates from L’Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse and L’Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, the Field Medal and Bode lecture prize of the IEEE Control Systems Society. Earlier this year he was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.