Jones: William L. Everitt Distinguished Prof in ECE
Professorship: William L. Everitt Distinguished Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering
The William L. Everitt Distinguished Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering was established to honor the memory of the former head of the electrical engineering department from 1944-49 as well as the dean of the College of Engineering from 1949-68. The former home of the ECE department, Everitt Laboratory, bears his name.
Dr. Everitt came to the University of Illinois in 1945 after a stint as an assistant professor and professor at Ohio State University. While at Ohio State, he published “Communication Engineering,” which became one of the most widely used textbooks in the field of electronics. He also wrote “Fundamentals of Radio” and edited a 96 book series for Prentice Hall.
He held ten honorary doctorate degrees, receiving nearly every award the profession of electrical engineering and engineering education could bestow. He also received the War Department’s Exceptionally Meritorious Civilian Award in 1946 in recognition of his work as director of the operation research staff for the US Army’s office of the chief signal officer during WWII. In WWI he served in the Marines.
Faculty: Douglas L. Jones
Douglas L. Jones is a global leader in the area of digital signal processing. His research includes neuroengineering, bioengineering and acoustics, and efficient energy management and conversion for sensing systems, communications, and information technology. He is the principal investigator of the Neuroengineering Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program and has led significant advancements in intelligent hearing aids, biologically-inspired sensory systems, and ultra-low-power electronic systems.
Jones joined the University of Illinois in 1988 and currently holds appointments in electrical and computer engineering as well as the neuroscience program. He is also affiliated with the Coordinated Science Laboratory and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. He served as director of the Advanced Digital Sciences Centre (ADSC) at Illinois at Singapore, Illinois’ only international research center, identifying and solving problems with high scientific and societal impact in the areas of data analytics, data visualization and cybersecurity. Under his leadership, the Center has produced more than twenty research projects, 100 researchers, become one of the premier research and innovation centers in Singapore, and created a future home for ADSC’s research in the newly funded TSCP CREATE Center.
He received his bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from Rice University in 1983, 1986, and 1987, respectively. Following his doctoral graduation, he joined the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany on a Fulbright postdoctoral scholarship.
Jones is an author of two DSP laboratory textbooks and was selected as the 2003 Connexions Author of the Year. He is an IEEE Fellow and was previously selected to join the Board of Governors of the IEEE Signal Processing Society.