“This is a prestigious honor and he is deeply deserving. Panos has had considerable research success in the area of dynamics and controls. He is currently leading a three-University MURI project and mentors a number of master's and Ph.D. aerospace engineering students," said May. "In addition, he has demonstrated a commitment to translate his expertise into real-world applications. The designation of Dean’s Professor is not only for his achievement, but because his leadership serves as a testament to the College of Engineering’s commitment to excellence.”

Criteria for the designation of Dean's Professor includes outstanding scholarship, dedication to education, and excellence in service at institutional and national/international levels.  Special considerations are given to those who exhibit a commitment to applications of engineering to improve society.  Nominations are submitted by College of Engineering school chairs, and an ad hoc committee is appointed to evaluate the nominees’ credentials and ultimately make a recommendation to the dean.  The Dean’s Professor designation carries with it an annual discretionary fund for a five-year period to enhance professional development.

Dr. Tsiotras is an AE professor and the director of the Dynamics and Control Systems Laboratory.  He is also affiliated with the Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines and the Center for Space Systems at Georgia Tech. Tsiotras’ area of expertise is on dynamics and controls, with emphasis on optimal and nonlinear control for mechanical and aerospace systems. He has authored or co-authored more than 250 technical papers in these areas. Recently, his work has shifted to algorithmic control design and optimal decision-making for autonomous systems. He is currently the lead PI of a three-University MURI project dealing with linking perception and control for agile autonomous vehicles operating in uncertain environments. 

Tsiotras holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering and Mathematics. Prior to joining Georgia Tech in 1998, he was a faculty member at the University of Virginia (1994-1998). He has also held visiting research positions at INRIA-Rocquencourt, in France and the Center of Automation and Systems at Ecole des Mines de Paris, also in France. He has served at the Editorial Boards of the AIAA Journal of Guidance Control and Dynamics, the IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, the IEEE Control Systems Magazine and the journal Dynamics and Control. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, and the Sigma Xi award for Excellent in Research. He is a Fellow of AIAA, and a Senior Member of the IEEE.