Magnus Egerstedt, Steve W. Chaddick school chair and professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, will become dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine effective July 19, 2021. 

“Magnus has made extensive contributions to the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering here at Tech, and it’s been an honor to serve alongside him as a professor within the School,” said Raheem Beyah, dean and Southern Company chair of the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech. “He is a world-class expert in his field and a true innovator, playing an instrumental role in developing our online robotics curriculum. Magnus leaves an indelible mark on our robotics program, namely with the creation of the Robotarium research platform. We wish him all the best as he starts his well-deserved position at UC Irvine.” 

Throughout his 20-year tenure at Georgia Tech, Egerstedt has served as a Schlumberger professor, Julian T. Hightower chair in Systems and Control, and executive director for the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines. Under his leadership as chair, the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering has remained the largest program of its kind in the nation, with more than 100 faculty members, 2,400 students, and over $60M in annual sponsored research.

"Georgia Tech is a special place. It is infused with energy, a willingness to innovate, and a profoundly collaborative vibe that makes it quite an honor to have been a part of the Georgia Tech community for the past 20 years,” said Egerstedt. "I am grateful to all the fantastic colleagues and friends I have made along the way, and I am grateful for and inspired by all of the gifted students that I have had the opportunity to teach and advise. It has been a rewarding and fun journey, and I look forward to continuing the collaborations and friendships that I have made here as I take on my new role as the dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine."

Egerstedt is a Fellow of the IEEE and has received numerous teaching and research awards, including the Ragazzini Award from the American Automatic Control Council, the Outstanding Doctoral Advisor Award and the HKN Outstanding Teacher Award from Georgia Tech, and the Alumni of the Year Award from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology. He was elected as a Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in 2019. Egerstedt conducts research in the areas of control theory and robotics, with particular focus on control and coordination of complex networks, such as multi-robot systems, mobile sensor networks, and cyber-physical systems.

An interim chair will be announced soon, and a search committee established to begin the process of identifying the next school chair.