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Biography

Brief Biography

Photo of Yan Wan

Yan Wan is a Distinguished Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). She received her Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Washington State University, followed by postdoctoral training at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research interests include the modeling, evaluation, and control of large-scale dynamical networks; cyber-physical systems; stochastic networks; decentralized and learning-based control; networking; uncertainty analysis; and algebraic graph theory, with applications to urban aerial mobility, autonomous driving, robotic networks, air traffic management, microgrids, and edge computing.

She has received research support from federal agencies such as NSF, ONR, ARO, NIST, and DOE, as well as industry partners including Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motor Corporation, Lockheed Martin, Dell Technologies, and MITRE Corporation through FAA subcontracts. Her research has resulted in more than 250 publications and multiple technology-transfer outcomes.

Her contributions have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the NSF CAREER Award, RTCA William E. Jackson Award, IEEE Outstanding Contribution Award, U.S. Ignite and GENI Demonstration Awards, IEEE WCNC and ICCA Best Paper Awards, UTA Outstanding Research Achievement or Creative Accomplishment Award, UNT Early Career Award for Research and Creativity, UTA STARS Award, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Tech Titans of the Future – University Level Award.

She previously served on the Board of Governors (BOG) of the IEEE Control Systems Society and currently serves as a BOG member for the IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society. She is an Associate Fellow of AIAA and a Senior Member of IEEE.

Professional Preparation
  • 2009 – Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, Washington State University (WSU)
  • 2004 – M.S. Electrical Engineering, University of Alabama (UA)
  • 2001 – B.S. Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA)
Appointments
  • 2021-Present – Distinguished University Professor, EE, University of Texas at Arlington, TX
  • 2020-2021 – Professor, EE, University of Texas at Arlington, TX
  • 2016-2020 – Associate Professor, EE, University of Texas at Arlington, TX
  • 2015-2016 – Associate Professor, EE, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
  • 2009-2015 – Assistant Professor, EE, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
  • 2009 – Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, University of California Santa Barbara

Awards & Honors

  1. IEEE Outstanding Contribution Award, IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society, October 2025.
  2. Elected to the AIAA Associate Fellow, AIAA, January 2023.
  3. Elected to the University of Texas at Arlington’s Academy of Distinguished Scholars, UTA, 2021.
  4. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Excellence in Teaching Award, UTA Engineering, 2021.
  5. AFRL Search and AI Challenge, 1st place in Showdown Run 4, 2nd place in Challenge 1, 3rd place in Showdown Run 1, and 3rd place in Challenge 2, Dayton, Ohio, April, 2019.
  6. Best Paper Award, 14th IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation (IEEE ICCA 2018), Anchorage, Alaska, June 2018.
  7. STARS-Engineering Implementation Award, University of Texas Systems, July 2016.
  8. UNT Early Career Award for Research and Creativity ($3000 honorarium), University of North Texas, October 2015.
  9. Tech Titan of the Future – University Level award ($25,000 honorarium), Metroplex Technology Business Council, August 2015.
  10. NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, April 2015.
  11. Best paper award, IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (IEEE WCNC), March 2015.
  12. Innovation award from MITRE for the air traffic management project (project award), November 2014.
  13. Third Prize GENI demonstration award in GEC 21, Indiana University, IN, October 2014.
  14. Best demonstration award in the “Use of Advanced Wireless” Category in the US Ignite 2014, Silicon Valley, CA, June 2014.
  15. Junior Faculty Summer Research Fellowship ($5,000 honorarium), University of North Texas, 2010.
  16. William E. Jackson Award (Excellence in aviation electronics and communication), a top award in the broad Aviation Electronics and Communication area. This award, presented by Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA), the advisory group for FAA, is presented annually to one honoree world-wide since 1975 to acknowledge outstanding contribution to aviation, with a $4,000 honorarium. Wan was selected in 2009 for her contribution to Air Traffic Management.
  17. Graduate School Travel Award ($500), Washington State University, 2008.
  18. College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) Graduate Student Excellence Award ($5,000 honorarium), Washington State University, 2007.
  19. Outstanding PhD Student, Washington State University, 2007.
  20. EECS Travel Award (Total amount $1,500), Washington State University, Fall 2007, Spring 2007, & Fall 2008.
  21. First Class Scholarship, NUAA, CHINA, 1999, 2000, 2001.
  22. First Class China National Space Administration (CNSA) “801” Special Fellowship, NUAA, CHINA, 1998.
  23. First Class Fellowship for Freshmen, NUAA, CHINA, 1997.

Services

Offices, Committees, and Positions in Professional Organization
  • IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society, Board of Governors, 2025-2027
  • WIE Committee Chair, Member of Membership and Student Activities Committee, IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society, 2024-present
  • IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society, Treasurer, Finance Committee, 2022-present
  • AIAA ISTC Scitech IS Technical Discipline Co-Chair, 2024
  • IEEE Control Systems Society, Board of Governors, 2021-2023
  • Vice President, IEEE Comsoc Fort Worth Chapter, 2017-2023
  • Technical Committee
    • Chair of IEEE SMCS Cyber-Physical Cloud Systems, 2023-Present
    • AIAA Intelligent Systems PDEO Chair, 2015-2025
    • IEEE CSS Nonlinear Systems and Control, 2018-Present
    • IEEE CSS Networks and Communication Systems, 2018-Present
    • AAAS SAE G-32 Cyber Physical Systems Security (CPSS) Committee, 2019-Present
  • Conference Editorial Board Member, IEEE CSS, 2018-2025
  • Technology Conference Editorial Board Member, IEEE CSS, 2019-2025
  • Program Officer, AIAA North Texas Sector, 2011-2012
  • Editor/Co-Editor/Associate Editor for
    • IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, 2020-Present
    • Unmanned Systems, 2019-Present
    • Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, Senior Editor, 2022-2023
    • IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 2021-2023
    • IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems, 2018-2023
    • Transactions of the Institute of Measurement and Control, 2018-2021
    • Journal of Advanced Control for Applications: Engineering and Industrial Systems, 2018-2023
    • AIAA Intelligent Systems Roadmap, 2016-Present
    • NSF CPS Roadmap, 2014
  • Guest Editor for
    • International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control, “Data-Driven Control: Theory and Applications,” 2023-2025.
    • International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control, “Control and Learning for Cyber-Physical Energy Systems,” 2023-2025.
    • Unmanned Systems, “Advanced Air Mobility: Enabling Technologies and Applications,” 2022-2024
    • IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, Focused Session, 2020-2021.
    • IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, “Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management,” 2019-2021.
    • International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control, “Optimal Control and learning for Cyber-Physical Systems,” 2019-2021.
    • IET Control Theory and Applications, “Distributed Optimization and Learning for Networked Systems”, 2018-2019.
    • IEEE ACCESS, Special Issue “Networks of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Wireless Communications, Applications, Control and Modelling”, 2017-2018.
  • Associate Editor for
    • IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), 2020-2022
    • IEEE Conference on Control Technology, 2019-2021
    • IEEE Decision and Control Conference, 2019-2025
    • American Control Conference, 2012-2025
    • IFAC Conference on Networked Systems, 2022
  • Conference Organizing Committee Member for
    • 2026 IEEE Systems Man and Cybernetics Conference, Finance Chair
    • 2026 American Control Conference, Finance Chair
    • 2024 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, Program Co-Chair
    • 2024 AIAA Scitech IS Deputy Technical Discipline Co-Chair
    • American Control Conference (ACC 2022), Registration Chair
    • 2020 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM 2020), Student Activities Co-Chair
    • 16th IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation (IEEE ICCA 2020), Program Co-Chair
    • 15th IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation (IEEE ICCA 2019), Invited Session Chair
    • 15th International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision (ICARCV 2018), Invited Sessions Chair
    • 14th IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation (IEEE ICCA 2018), Publication Chair
    • International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Local Conference Chair, 2018, 2019
    • AIAA Scitech Conference Intelligent Systems, Area Chair, 2018, 2019
  • Technical Program Committee Member for
    • International Program Committee (IPC) of the 2024 International Conference on Cyber-physical Social Intelligence (ICCSI 2024), Doha, Qatar November 8-12, 2024
    • IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 2020
    • Audit Committee for IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 2020
    • 2020 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, Boston, MA, July 6-10, 2020
    • The 1st International Workshop on Computing-Centric Drone Networks, Globecom, Waikoloa, HI, December 2019
    • 14th International Science of Smart City Operations and Platforms Engineering (SCOPE-2019), CPS Week
    • 2019 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems
    • IEEE International Workshop on Pervasive Computing for Vehicular Systems (PerVehicle 2019)
    • 5th annual AIAA Intelligent Systems Workshop, the Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA, August 7-8, 2018
    • 2018 INFOCOM Workshop on WiSARN 2018: Wireless Sensor, Robot, and UAV Networks
    • 2018 American Control Conference
    • 2018 ICC SAC Symposium Internet of Things Track
    • 8th GLOBECOM Workshop on Wireless Networking and Control for Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles (Wi-UAV), 2017
    • SPIE Smart Structures/NDE Conference, 2012-Present
    • IEEE Big Data Conference Special Session on Intelligent Data Mining, 2016
    • IEEE/CIC ICCC 2015 Workshops on Internet of Thing, 2014-2015
    • IEEE WCNC, 2015
    • International Conference on Information Technology, 2014
    • Complex Networks Workshop at the 14th International Conference on Distributed Computing and Networking, 2013-2014
  • Organizing Workshop/Tutorial Chair for
    • Workshop on Enhanced Open Networked Airborne Computing Platform, Navada, November 2025.
    • Workshop on Enhanced Open Networked Airborne Computing Platform, Vienna, Austria, in conjunction with the 2025 IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Conference (SMC 25).
    • Workshop on Enhanced Open Networked Airborne Computing Platform, San Juan, Puerto Rico, in conjunction with the International Symposium on Intelligent Computing and Networking (ISICN 2024).
    • Workshop on Enhanced Open Networked Airborne Computing Platform, San Diego, CA, USA, January 2024.
    • Workshop on Enhanced Open Networked Airborne Computing Platform, Fort Worth, TX, USA, October 27th, 2023.
    • Unleashing the Power of Airborne Computing in UAV Systems, IEEE VTC 2023, HongKong, October 10-13, 2023.
    • Towards UAV-Based Airborne Computing: Applications, Design, and Prototype, IEEE Latin-American Conference on Communications, Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, Nov 17 – 19, 2021.
    • Towards Networked Airborne Computing: Applications, Challenges, and Enabling Technologies, ICUAS, Athens, Greece, September 2021
    • Towards Networked Airborne Computing: Applications, Challenges, and Enabling Technologies, ICUAS, Athens, Greece, September 2020
    • The 1st International Workshop on Computing-Centric Drone Networks, Globecom, December 2019
    • Towards Networked Airborne Computing: Applications, Challenges, and Enabling Technologies, IEEE VTC, Honolulu, Hawaii, September 2019
    • Towards Networked Airborne Computing: Applications, Challenges, and Enabling Technologies, ICUAS, Dallas, TX, June 2019
    • ARO Workshop on Distributed Reinforcement Learning and Reinforcement Learning Games, Maryland, MD, April 2019
    • Towards Networked Airborne Computing: Applications, Challenges, and Enabling Technologies, VTC, Chicago, IL, August, 2018
    • Towards Networked Airborne Computing: Applications, Challenges, and Enabling Technologies, ICUAS, Dallas, TX, June, 2018
    • Second International Seminar on Aerial Networking, Denton, TX, 2015
    • First International Seminar on Aerial Networking, Beijing, CHINA, 2014
    • 2013 AIAA Infotech@Aerospace Conference, 2013
    • ACM MobiHoc Conference, 2012
  • Organizing Invited Session Chair for
    • IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Conference, 2025
    • IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation, 2020
    • IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation, 2019
    • International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision, 2018
  • Session Chair for
    • SMC Conference, 2025
    • Plenary, IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, 2024
    • ACC Conference, 2023
    • AIAA Scitech Conference, January 2021
    • AIAA Scitech Conference, January 2020
    • Computing-Centric Drone Networks, Globecom, Waikoloa, HI, December 2019
    • CPS PI Meeting, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Luncheon, November 2019
    • ARO Workshop on Distributed Reinforcement Learning and Reinforcement Learning Games, April 2019
    • 14th International Science of Smart City Operations and Platforms Engineering (SCOPE), CPS Week, April 2019
    • AIAA Scitech Conference, January 2019
    • Mathworks Research Faculty Summit Control, Cyber Physical Systems Session, June 2018
    • IEEE ICCA, June 2018
    • International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, June 2018
    • Globecom Wi-UAV Workshop, December 2017
    • National Workshop on Developing a Research Agenda for Connected Rural Communities, Breakout Sessions, September 2017
    • AIAA Intelligent Systems Workshop at University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Breakout Sections, 2017
    • SPIE Smart Structures/NDE Conference, 2012, 2013, 2017
    • Mathworks Research Faculty Summit Control, Systems Session, 2016
    • AIAA Intelligent Systems Workshop at NASA Langley, Breakout Sections, 2016
    • AIAA Intelligent Systems Workshop at NASA Ames Breakout Sections, 2015
    • American Control Conference, 2015
    • IEEE DCOSS, 2014
    • AIAA Infotech@Aerospace Conference, 2012, 2013
    • ACM MobiHoc Conference, 2012
    • AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, Portland, OR, 2011
  • Panel Chair for
    • ACM MobiHoc Conference, 2012
  • Panelist for
    • A Special Forum for the 10th Anniversary of the International Journal, Unmanned
    • Systems, CCC, July 2023.
    • Unleashing autonomous drones for disaster risk reduction, AI FOR GOOD WEBINARS, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva, Switzerland, October 2022.
    • Winning with AI: Can Reinforcement Learning game the real world?, MathWorks Expert Panel, October 2020
    • Developing Embedded Intelligence: Opportunities on the Edge, Grace Hopper Celebration Conference, October 2019
    • IEEE VTC Workshop on Network-assisted Collaborative Automated Driving, September 2019
    • UTA EE Workshop on UAVs, April, 2019
    • National Workshop on Developing a Research Agenda for Connected Rural Communities, Breakout Sessions, September 2017
    • AIAA Intelligent Systems Workshop at NASA Ames, 2015
Reviewer for Journals, Conferences, Books, and Proposals
  • Books
    • Elsevier
    • John Wiley & Sons
    • Birkhauser
    • CRC
    • Springer
  • Journals
    • IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control
    • IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems
    • IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing
    • IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing
    • IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering
    • IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics
    • IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics
    • IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technologies
    • IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems
    • IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems
    • IEEE Transactions on Communications, 2020
    • IEEE Transactions on Mechatronics, 2021
    • IEEE Control System Letters, 2020
    • IEEE Network Magazine, 2020
    • IEEE Access
    • IET Control Theory and Applications
    • IET Communications
    • Transactions of the Institute of Measurement and Control
    • ACM Transactions on Sensor Networks
    • AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics
    • Automatica
    • Systems and Control Letters
    • International Journal of Control
    • International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control
    • International Journal of Communication Systems
    • Measurement and Control
    • Mathematical Reviews
    • Journal of Aerospace Operations
    • Journal of Airspace Information Systems
    • Aerospace Science and Technology
    • Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing
    • Sensors
    • Robotics
    • Neurocomputing
    • Science China
    • Engineering, 2021
  • Conferences
    • IEEE Conference on Decision and Control
    • IEEE Infocom
    • IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC)
    • IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation (ICCA)
    • IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA)
    • IEEE Big Data Conference
    • IEEE Globecom Wi-UAV Workshop
    • IEEE Vehicular Networking Conference (VNC)
    • American Control Conference
    • Symposium on IFAC Symposium on System, Structure and Control
    • IFAC World Congress
    • AIAA Infotech@Aerospace Conference
    • AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference
    • AIAA Scitech
    • International Conference on Information Technology
    • International Conference on Computer Engineering & Systems
    • International Conference on Consumer Electronics, Communications and Networks
    • IEEE/CIC International Conference on Communications in China
    • International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision
    • IEEE International Workshop on Pervasive Computing for Vehicular Systems
    • IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics
    • CPS Week
  • Proposals
    • ARMY
    • NSF CMMI – Sensors and Sensing Systems Program
    • NSF ECCS – Communications, Circuits and Sensing Systems Program
    • NSF CNS- Computer and Network Systems (CNS) Program
    • NSF EPCN – Energy, Power, Control, and Networks
    • NSF CAREER Program
    • NSF CPS Program
    • NSF Big Data Program
    • NSF IIS – Big Data Spoke Program
    • NSF OLA – Research Infrastructure Improvement Program
    • NSF Center Program
    • NSF SBIR
    • KACST Research Proposal Competition
    • DOE
    • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
    • UT System Contex Program
    • UTA REP
    • UNT Venture Fund for China