School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Professor Haesun Park was named a 2017 IEEE Fellow by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Elevation to the grade of Fellow is bestowed by the IEEE Board of Directors to members with an exceptional record of achievements. Park is the only College of Computing faculty member to receive this distinction this year and is among the one-tenth of 1 percent of voting members eligible for the award.

Park is the 22nd College of Computing faculty member to receive the IEEE Fellow title. Past recipients of the title include Park’s colleagues Srinivas Aluru, David Bader, and Umit V. Catalyurek, all of whom work in CSE. Prior to this award, Park was elected to Fellow status by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics in 2013. She is the only College of Computing faculty member who is both a SIAM and IEEE Fellow.

“For more than 100 years, election to IEEE Fellow has been one of the highest honors accorded to scientists and engineers around the world. By IEEE’s own description, it’s reserved for those individuals whose contributions to their fields have been deemed ‘extraordinary,’” said CSE Chair David Bader.  “I’m proud—but not at all surprised—that Professor Park has earned this honor, and I look forward to working with her as she continues her important research in service of Georgia Tech and the School of CSE’s mission.”

Park, who directed the National Science Foundation and Department of Homeland Security’s Foundations of Data and Visual Analytics (FODAVA) Center, was elevated to an IEEE Fellow "for contributions to large-scale data and visual analytics." She also served as the executive director to the Center for Data Analytics at Georgia Tech, providing the foundation for the institute’s activities in big data analytics.

Park directed the multi-year, large-scale XDATA project funded by DARPA. As the project’s principal investigator, she developed state-of-the-art algorithms and software for big data analytics. Her contributions to data and visual analytics are essential for new discoveries in fields such as text analysis, social network analysis, homeland security, health care, bioinformatics, and commerce.

Park has been with CSE since July 2005. She has authored or coauthored over 200 peer-reviewed publications. Park has chaired and served on numerous conference committees and editorial boards. Additionally, she has delivered plenary keynote lectures at major international conferences such as SIAM International Conference on Data Mining and SIAM Conference on Applied Linear Algebra.

Park earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from the Cornell University in 1985 and 1987, respectively. In 1981, she received her B.S. in mathematics from the Seoul National University and earned the President’s Medal, which is presented to the university's top graduate. Park held positions at the University of Minnesota and the National Science Foundation before joining Georgia Tech.

The IEEE is the world’s leading professional association for advancing technology for humanity. Through its 400,000-plus members across 160 countries, the association is a leading authority on a variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power, and consumer electronics.