First, the longtime researcher was selected by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) to give the 2016 von Kármán Lectureship in Astronautics. This year's talk will focus on the theme: "Rethinking Space Propulsion: Enabling the Future of Space Transportation and Exploration."

Yang was also recently elected to membership in the Academia Sinica (AS), the highest honor bestowed on scholars of Chinese origin.

The von Kármán Lectureship in Astronautics is presented to recognize an individual who has performed notably in the field. It is named in honor of Theodore von Kármán, world famous authority on aerospace sciences.

The lecture will be given during the AIAA Space and Astronautics Forum and Exposition (SPACE2016) Forum which will take place on Tuesday, September 13 at the Long Beach Convention Center in California. An engraved medal and certificate of citation will be presented after the lecture.

Membership in Academia Sinica is a crowning achievement for Yang, placing him in the company of Nobel Laureates, Wolk  Prize winners, and at least four distinguished Georgia Tech faculty: Jeff Wu (ISyE), B. H. Fred Juang (ECE) and Mei-Yin Chou (Physics).

A member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of both ASME and AIAA, Yang has served on the editorial advisory boards of virtually all the major journals in the fields of combustion, propulsion, and energetic, including AIAA Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics; Progress in Energy and Combustion Science; Combustion and Flame; JANNAF Journal of Propulsion and Energetics; Journal of Aeronautics, Astronautics, and Aviation; Journal of Chinese Institute of Engineers; International Journal of Fluid Machinery and System; and Combustion, Explosion, and Shock Waves.