At each Georgia Tech home game during the football season, the Georgia Power Professor of Excellence Award is presented to one faculty member from one of Tech’s six colleges. Dr. Catherine Ross, Harry West Professor of City and Regional Planning and director of the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD), has been selected to receive one of the six 2014 awards and will be honored at the football game on Saturday, October 11, 2014. Dr. Ross’ picture will appear on the scoreboard, and information about her research will be read to the crowd. Additionally, a contribution will be made to the College of Architecture in her name.

Dr. Ross is an internationally known transportation and urban planner. She is one of the world’s experts on Megaregions and sustainability – bringing together regions and cities around transportation, water, energy, land development and health, and creating places that compete in a global world. Her book, Megaregions and Global Competitiveness (2009), is a leading reference on these emerging geographies.

 Her extensive research on regional resilience and sustainability focuses on water, energy and transportation. Her work has been funded by numerous public agencies, the private sector and many local, city, and state governments throughout the country and abroad. Her recent book “Health Impact Assessment in the United States,” was published in 2014 by Springer.

She is a member of the National Academy of Public Administration and a former Urban Land Institute Fellow.  In 2009, she advised the Obama Administration on the first-ever White House Office of Urban Affairs.

Georgia Tech’s undefeated football team will be playing Duke on Saturday when Dr. Ross receives her award.