Harpreet S. Dhillon named W. Martin Johnson Professor
Harpreet S. Dhillon, professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering, has been named the W. Martin Johnson Professor by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The professorship was established in 1983 through the gift of the late W. Martin Johnson to recognize teaching and research excellence in the College of Engineering.
A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 2014, Dhillon is internationally recognized for his work in wireless communications, particularly in analyzing large-scale wireless systems using stochastic geometry. He has written numerous publications, including three books, two edited volumes, and nearly 250 journal and conference papers.
Dhillon has created a highly successful externally funded program by securing funding from multiple funding sources, including 12 awards from the National Science Foundation. He has received $12 million in awards since joining Virginia Tech, with Virginia Tech’s share reaching $9 million, and his personal share exceeding $4 million.
At Virginia Tech, he has received numerous honors, including the Outstanding New Assistant Professor Award in 2017, the Steven O. Lane Junior Faculty Fellowship in 2018, the College of Engineering Faculty Fellowship in 2018, the Turner Faculty Fellowship in 2019, and the Dean's Award for Excellence in Research in 2020.
A fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Dhillon has received six best paper awards, including three highly competitive awards from the IEEE Communications Society, namely the IEEE Leonard G. Abraham Prize, the IEEE Communications Society Katherine Johnson Young Author Best Paper Award, and the IEEE Heinrich Hertz Award.
His teaching excellence is evidenced by consistent recognition as one of the top instructors in his department, and his mentoring excellence is reflected in his success in advising postdoctoral associates and supporting numerous graduate students to completion.
Dhillon has also demonstrated exemplary service to his professional society and Virginia Tech through leadership roles on editorial boards of the top journals of his discipline, chairing technical program committees, and organizing dozens of workshops at top conferences. At Virginia Tech, he is currently serving as the interim department head of the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the associate director of the Wireless@Virginia Tech research group. He also oversees undergraduate and graduate curricula in wireless communications as the chair of the communications area and the lead of the wireless communications and signal processing major.
Dhillon received his bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, a master’s degree from Virginia Tech, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.
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