Yannis Yortsos

Professor Yortsos has served as Dean of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering since June 2005. He is the Chester F. Dolley Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering and holds the Zohrab A. Kaprielian Dean’s Chair in Engineering. Yortsos is well known for his work on fluid flow, transport, and reaction processes in porous and fractured media with applications to the recovery of subsurface fluids and soil remediation. He has been actively involved in the peer review of the Yucca Mountain Project for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste.

Yortsos coined the term Engineering+, a concept promoting interdisciplinary research, programs, and faculty appointments that enable engineering’s powerful role for innovation in the sciences and the professions. He led the establishment of new programs across curricula to enhance engineering education, including the recent HST@USC collaboration between the Viterbi School of Engineering and the Keck School of Medicine at USC. He has promoted global outreach through the iPodia platform, linking instruction of top engineering schools worldwide and establishing engineering innovation and entrepreneurship in the Viterbi School.

The recipient of many honors for research, teaching, and service, Dean Yortsos is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and serves as the liaison of Section 11 to the National Research Council. Yortsos received his B.Sc. from the National Technical University, Athens, Greece, and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology, all in chemical engineering. An invited scholar at several institutions in the United States and abroad, he joined the faculty of USC in 1978. Yortsos is an Associate Member of the Academy of Athens and is the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Engineering Deans Council as well as the Executive Committee of the Global Engineering Deans Council.