February 3, 2025
On January 14th, 2025, President Biden recognized almost 400 scientists and engineers with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the U.S. government's highest merit for exceptional scientists and engineers at the beginning of their careers.
Among the award recipients was aerospace engineering alumnus Zak Kassas, a professor in the electrical and computer engineering at The Ohio State University. Kassas was recognized for pioneering contributions to cyber-physical systems technologies for intelligent national transportation infrastructure.
As director of the Autonomous Systems Perception, Intelligence and Navigation (ASPIN) Laboratory and of the U.S. Department of Transportation Center for Automated Vehicle Research with Multimodal AssurEd Navigation (CARMEN), Kassas has led innovative research in navigation resiliency and security for highly automated transportation systems. His work has garnered over $27 million in federal grants, earned scientific awards from the IEEE and the Institute of Navigation (ION), and been featured in many national and international media outlets.
"I'm thrilled to see Zak so richly honored by the NSF and President Biden. Zak has been doing high-impact work — and a lot of it! — since he graduated from UT in 2014. I'm very proud to see his accumulating accomplishments," said Todd Humprheys, a professor of aerospace engineering who served as Kassas’ faculty advisor during his graduate studies in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin. Humphreys also received a PECASE in 2019.
The PECASE, established by former President Bill Clinton in 1996 honors scientists and engineers who demonstrate exceptional potential for leadership early in their research careers. The award recognizes innovative advancements in science and technology, raises awareness of careers in these fields, highlights the scientific missions of participating agencies, strengthens the connection between research and societal impact, and underscores the significance of science and technology for the nation’s future.
“I am honored to have received from the White House the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). I am grateful to my advisors and mentors and to my students, past and present. I am thankful to NSF for nominating me for this prestigious honor and to the cyber-physical systems program for believing in my research vison and enabling me to make it possible,” Kassas posted on his LinkedIn account.
Kassas received a B.E. with honors in electrical engineering from the Lebanese American University, an M.S. in electrical and computer engineering from The Ohio State University, an M.S. in aerospace engineering and a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. He is the recipient of the NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award and Young Investigator Program awards from the Office of Naval Research and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and a fellow member of both ION and IEEE. He is the author of more than 200 papers and 24 U.S. patents.
