McLaughlin named first Armstrong professor

by Elizabeth Luciano, Chronicle staff

Called one of the "most industrious young faculty members" in the College of Engineering, associate professor David McLaughlin will receive additional support for his research through a three-year appointment as the Armstrong Professional Development Professor.

ssociate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering David McLaughlin has been named the Armstrong Professional Development Professor by President William M. Bulger, following approval by the Board of Trustees at its meeting Wednesday at UMass Dartmouth. He was recommended for the honor by interim Chancellor Marcellette Williams and interim Provost Charlena Seymour.

     The professorship is a three-year appointment awarded to a faculty member who is developing a significant area of research that includes the participation of other faculty and professional staff.

     "David McLaughlin is one of our most industrious young faculty members," said Joseph I. Goldstein, dean of the College of Engineering. "This professorship will help support his development as one of the future leaders of the college."

     McLaughlin's teaching and research interests center around using cutting-edge microwave technology to pinpoint and track extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and tornadoes. The director of the University's well-regarded Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory (MIRSL), he specializes in the areas of microwave remote sensing, radar system design, and wireless networks.

     The Armstrong endowment was established by Amherst residents John and Elizabeth Armstrong, to support a full-time engineering professor in the early stages of his or her career. This represents the first professional development fund of its kind established in the College of Engineering. "Support of this kind is very valuable to young professors," John Armstrong said. "Otherwise they spend a tremendous amount of time trying to find grants from various resources."

     The Armstrong Professorship is the second endowment that the couple has given to the College of Engineering. The first was a $200,000 fund for scholarships to engineering students. John Armstrong is an active member of the Dean's Advisory Council, a board that recommends ways to make engineering students more marketable to industry.
The latest $850,000 endowment for the Armstrong professorship received an additional $650,000 through the President's Special Endowment Program, a state matching funds program to establish professorships.

     John Armstrong retired in 1993 from IBM as vice president of science and technology, and was a member of IBM's Corporate Management Board. "I spent my career in research and development in computing," he said. "I have a strong sense of how important it is to train young engineers. Nationwide it's getting harder to convince young people to go on to academic careers in computer science and engineering, so making research support available to university faculty is very much in the national inter-est."

     McLaughlin spent 10 years on the faculty at Northeastern University where he created the Radar Systems Laboratory and led that department's development of a B.S. degree program in computer systems engineering. He joined the ECE faculty in 1999 as associate professor and assumed the directorship of MIRSL in September 2001.

     McLaughlin received his bachelor's and doctoral degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University in 1984 and 1989, respectively. He then joined the faculty of Northeastern University, where he taught and conducted research for 10 years. During his tenure at Northeastern University, McLaughlin established and led the Radar Systems Laboratory, where he conducted experimental research in microwave remote sensing.