Leung Tsang named Robert J. Hiller Professor of Engineering

Leung Tsang has been named the Robert J. Hiller Professor of Engineering in recognition of his outstanding contributions in the areas of research, education, and leadership.

Tsang is a world-renowned expert in the field of theoretical and computational electromagnetics, and in particular microwave remote sensing of the earth. His research interests include: wave propagation, multiple scattering of waves, random media, rough surfaces,  with applications in environmental remote sensing; computational electromagnetics; signal integrity, electromagnetic compatibility; and photonic crystals.

Tsang played a major role developing theoretical models that have  been the bases of  microwave sensors mounted on satellite missions for continual global monitoring . The models have  also been used in physically based algorithms for the retrieval of geophysical parameters. 

For example, global mapping  of soil moisture helps researchers understand and predict water cycles and droughts. Knowing how much water is locked up in snowpack enables the tracking of water resources and the prediction of floods. Measurements of ocean wind are important for predicting and monitoring weather, particularly hurricanes. Vegetation and forest surveys inform studies of crop yield, agriculture, ecology and the global carbon cycle. And all of these, plus measurements of polar ice sheets and ice shelves, , sea ice and polar ocean salinity, contribute to an ever clearer picture of the global climate and the effects of warming.

Tsang shares several of his computer codes and simulations on his website. Among these are lookup tables for sea ice surface for both active and passive observations, rough  soil surface  scattering and emission ,  and a toolkit to model the microwave signature of multi-layered  snowpacks. . 

He has written more than 300 journal articles. He is the lead author of Theory of Microwave Remote Sensing (1985) and the 3-volume Scattering of Electromagnetic Waves (2000 and 2001). He authored four U.S. patents.

In the classroom, Tsang has taught EECS 330 (Intro to Antennas and Wireless Systems), 503 (Intro to Numerical Electromagnetics), 531 (Antenna Theory and Design), 633 (Numerical Methods in Electromagnetics), and a special topics graduate course on Green’s Functions in Electromagnetics. He has graduated 33 PhD students.

Tsang has received numerous awards, including the IEEE Electromagnetics Award, the William T. Pecora Award (co-sponsored by USGS and NASA), the Golden Florin Award, the Van de Hulst Light-Scattering Award, IEEE GRSS Distinguished Achievement and Outstanding Service Awards, and the IEEE Third Millennium Medal.

He was the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing (1996-2000) and the  President of IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (2006-2007). He also served as General Chair of the 1998 IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. Since April 2008, he has been the President of the Electromagnetics Academy. 

Prior to joining the University of Michigan, Tsang was a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington, Seattle, serving as Department Chair between 2006-2011. He  was a  Chair Professor and the Assistant Head  of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the City University of Hong Kong between 2001-2004. 

He is a Fellow of IEEE, the Optical Society of America, and the Electromagnetics Academy. Tsang is a member of the Washington State Academy of Science, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.