Naval Postgraduate School Professor Wei Kang has been honored as a 2025 Fellow by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), a prestigious recognition awarded to individuals who have made substantial contributions to applied mathematics and have demonstrated exemplary service to the professional community. This accolade underscores Kang’s influential role in advancing mathematical research with significant applications in naval and defense technologies, particularly through his pioneering work in dynamic systems and control theory.
SIAM, a leading international organization dedicated to applied and computational mathematics, annually selects a highly distinguished group of Fellows who represent the forefront of innovation across diverse industries and academic institutions worldwide. This year, among an extensive membership base of 14,000 professionals across multiple sectors—including academia, government agencies, military, and industry—25 mathematicians were named Fellows. Professor Kang’s inclusion in this select cohort highlights the global recognition of his theoretical and computational expertise.
Kang’s fellowship citation specifically acknowledges his “fundamental theoretical and computational contributions to the analysis, control, and estimation of nonlinear dynamical systems and their applications.” At its core, this research revolves around dynamic systems theory, which deals with mathematically modeling and predicting the behavior of complex systems over time. These systems are often nonlinear, exhibiting behaviors that are intricate and sensitive to initial conditions, which makes their control and estimation particularly challenging but essential in real-world applications such as autonomous vehicles and power grids.
In essence, dynamic systems provide a framework through which the future state of a system can be predicted from its current state, given an underlying set of physical principles. Kang elucidates this by emphasizing the predictive capabilities rooted in fundamental physics, while candidly acknowledging the inherent difficulties in accurate forecasting. The complexity of natural and engineered dynamic systems—especially nonlinear ones—requires sophisticated mathematical tools for effective control, which have been the focus of Kang’s ongoing research efforts.
Control systems, a field where mathematics and engineering converge, are at the heart of Kang’s investigations. These systems are designed to regulate the behavior of dynamic processes, ranging from uncrewed autonomous vehicles to industrial machinery. Kang’s work pushes the boundaries by integrating advanced machine learning, data science, and artificial intelligence techniques to enhance the adaptability and precision of control strategies. This interdisciplinary approach reflects the modern trend of leveraging computational intelligence to solve classical engineering problems.
Collaborating with his students and various defense research institutions, Kang has contributed to noteworthy projects that demonstrate the transformative power of applied mathematics. His work includes data simulation efforts for numerical weather prediction in partnership with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, indicating how mathematical models assist in forecasting atmospheric phenomena critical to naval operations. Additionally, he has been involved in data assimilation studies related to the combustion dynamics of rocket and jet engines through the Air Force Research Laboratory—efforts that are vital for improving propulsion efficiency and reliability.
Furthermore, Kang’s expertise has been instrumental in anomaly detection within power systems, collaborating with the Office of Naval Research’s Next Strategic Technology Evaluation Program (NextSTEP). This research underscores the importance of dynamic system monitoring to maintain the integrity and stability of critical infrastructure, an area of increasing concern as power grids become more complex and integrated with renewable energy sources.
Beyond his applied projects, Kang participates in a multi-institutional initiative funded by the National Science Foundation aimed at exploring the mathematical foundations of machine learning. This collaboration seeks to deepen understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of learning algorithms, which are essential for ensuring robustness, transparency, and efficiency in AI-driven systems, thereby bridging pure mathematics with cutting-edge technological advancements.
In addition to his SIAM Fellowship, Professor Kang is recognized as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), reflecting his interdisciplinary impact across mathematics, engineering, and computer science. His affiliation with the University of California at Santa Cruz as an adjunct professor further positions him at the nexus of academic innovation and mentorship, where he shapes the next generation of mathematicians and engineers.
Kang values the role of professional societies not only for honoring research excellence but also for fostering community and leadership within the discipline. His contributions extend to organizing and chairing international conferences on systems and controls, as well as serving as vice chair of the systems and controls activity group within SIAM. These service roles amplify his influence in setting agendas and facilitating collaboration among researchers worldwide.
Dr. Ralucca Gera, Chair of the Department of Applied Mathematics at the Naval Postgraduate School, praises Kang’s achievement as a testament to his exceptional research contributions and service to the field. She emphasizes that Professor Kang’s recognition as a SIAM Fellow elevates both his personal standing and the Naval Postgraduate School’s reputation as a hub of innovation and excellence in mathematical research relevant to national defense.
The ascendancy of applied mathematics as a driver of technological innovation is vividly illustrated by Kang’s career, which seamlessly integrates theoretical rigor with practical application. His work addresses some of the most demanding scientific challenges, from predictive modeling and control of autonomous systems to the foundational theory underpinning machine learning, demonstrating how advanced mathematics continues to shape the future of engineering and defense technologies.
As the SIAM community celebrates Professor Wei Kang’s induction into the 2025 class of Fellows, it also acknowledges the increasingly vital role of interdisciplinary collaboration in advancing knowledge. Kang’s visionary integration of applied mathematics with artificial intelligence and engineering exemplifies how the field is evolving to meet complex societal needs, promising exciting developments in dynamic system analysis and control for years to come.
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Subject of Research: Applied Mathematics, Nonlinear Dynamical Systems, Control Theory, Machine Learning Integration, Systems and Controls
Article Title: Naval Postgraduate School’s Wei Kang Named 2025 SIAM Fellow for Pioneering Work in Dynamic Systems and Controls
News Publication Date: Not specified in the content
Web References:
– https://www.siam.org/publications/siam-news/articles/siam-announces-2025-class-of-fellows
– https://nps.edu/web/math
– https://sites.google.com/site/weikangnpsmonterey
Image Credits: U.S. Navy photo by Dan Linehan
Keywords: Applied Mathematics, Control Theory, Dynamic Systems, Nonlinear Systems, Machine Learning, Data Assimilation, Anomaly Detection, Autonomous Vehicles, Numerical Weather Prediction
