Yang 'Cindy' Yi awarded Bradley Senior Faculty Fellowship
Yang “Cindy” Yi, professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been awarded a Bradley Senior Faculty Fellowship by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The fellowship recognizes and supports outstanding faculty in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. It was created with the support of the Bradley Endowment, established by a generous gift from Marion Bradley Via.
A member of the Virginia Tech community since 2017, Yi is an internationally recognized scholar and innovator in integrated circuits and systems, brain-inspired computing and communication, computer-aided design, and high-performance computing. Her research not only advances the theoretical foundations of computing and communication systems but also delivers translational impact through collaborations with industry, government agencies, and interdisciplinary teams. Her pioneering efforts in brain-inspired architectures and artifical intelligence- and machine-learning-driven wireless systems have opened new pathways for resilient, energy-efficient, and intelligent technologies that address pressing societal challenges.
Yi has participated in 34 externally funded projects, including 19 as principal investigator, with total awards exceeding $60 million. She has received multiple awards for her research, teaching, and service, including the following:
- Virginia Tech College of Engineering Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research
- College of Engineering Dean’s Fellow
- MICRON & TEL UPWARDS Faculty Fellow
- Virginia Tech Research Excellence (Major Sponsored Proposal) Award
- Virginia Tech Universal Design for Learning Fellow
- IEEE Featured Author
- National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award
She is also an inaugural faculty member of the Institute for Advanced Computing.
Yi has published more than 200 refereed papers in leading journals and conferences. Her publications have earned multiple best paper awards: Charles K. Kao Best Paper Award in 2020; IEEE Technical Committee on Green Communications and Computing Committee in IEEE Global Communications Conference; IEEE International Symposium on Quality Electronic Design in 2018; IEEE Transmission, Access, and Optical Systems Technical Committee in International Conference on Communications in 2018; IEEE Global Communications Conference in 2016; and more.
Yi has served as the book editor, general chair, program chair, technical program committee track chair and member for various international conferences. She has also been an editorial board member for a variety of leading journals.
She has advised 32 Ph.D. and master’s degree students and mentored many undergraduates. Most of her former students now hold positions in industry, government laboratories, and academia.
Yi holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Texas A&M University.
