Alan Willson, EE 61, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional distinctions that can be awarded to an engineer in the United States. Willson was recognized by the Academy for “contributions to the theory and applications of digital signal processing.” He is among 67 new members to be inducted to the academy in 2014. Willson has played an important role internationally in the field of circuits and systems. He has conducted research on computer-aided circuit analysis and design; the stability of distributed circuits; properties of nonlinear networks; theory of active circuits; digital signal processing; and integrated circuits for signal processing. Willson has received numerous awards and accolades for his work over the years. As an engineering professor at the University of California Los Angeles, Willson created UCLA’s first courses in digital signal processing in the mid-1970s and established digital signal processing as a research field at UCLA. He also served as associate dean of engineering for UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science from 1987 through 2001. Although he retired from teaching in 2013, he was asked to continue his research and is presently serving a three-year appointment as UCLA’s Charles P. Reames Research Professor.
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