Henry T. Yang was named UC Santa Barbara’s fifth chancellor in 1994. He was formerly the Neil A. Armstrong Distinguished Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University, where he also served as the dean of engineering for ten years.

 

Dr. Yang is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Society for Engineering Education, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He has received a number of recognitions for his research, teaching, and public service, including the Benjamin Garver Lamme Medal from the American Society of Engineering Education; the Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and eight honorary doctorates. In 2016 he received the National Academy of Engineering's Arthur M. Bueche Award.

 

He currently chairs the international Thirty Meter Telescope project, and serves on the Kavli Foundation Board. He is a past chair of the Association of American Universities and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, and served two terms as a presidential appointee to the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science. Previously he has served on scientific advisory boards for the Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, NASA, and the National Science Foundation.

 

Dr. Yang specializes in aerospace structures, structural dynamics, composite materials, finite elements, transonic aeroelasticity, wind and earthquake structural engineering, and intelligent manufacturing systems. He has authored or co-authored more than 190 articles for scientific journals, as well as a widely used textbook on finite element structural analysis. He has guided 55 Ph.D. and 21 M.S. recipients. He continues to teach an undergraduate course every year, and is currently guiding three Ph.D. students with support from National Science Foundation grants. In 2007 he received an honorary distinguished teaching award from UCSB’s Academic Senate.

 

He and his wife, Dilling, live on campus. Dilling volunteers her time to the university. In 2001, Henry and Dilling Yang were named honorary alumni of UCSB.