UW News

May 6, 2004

EE Prof Poovendran wins ‘young investigator’ award

Radha Poovendran in the UW’s Department of Electrical Engineering is one of 26 researchers nationwide to win a highly competitive Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award for 2004.

Poovendran, whose research involves network security, won the award under the office’s Surveillance, Communications and Electronic Combat Division for a proposal titled “Self-Organizing and Randomization Protocols for Routing and Security of Broadband Wireless Networks.” Winners are given up to $100,000 a year for three years to help support their research.

This isn’t the first national award for Poovendran. In 2002, he won a Young Investigator Award from the Army Research Office, and in 2001 he received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation.

“These are the three most prestigious national awards for young faculty, and winning any one of them is a significant honor and achievement,” Bruce Darling, acting chair of the electrical engineering department. “But winning all three is a triple crown that is virtually unheard of.”

Darling added that Poovendran won a Rising Star Award from the National Security Agency in 1999. He received departmental awards in 2002 as outstanding research adviser and outstanding teacher.

Poovendran earned his doctorate in 1999 from the University of Maryland, College Park. He joined the UW in 2000.