Grace Gao

Bio

Grace Gao is an associate professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. She leads the Navigation and Autonomous Vehicles Laboratory (NAV Lab). Before joining Stanford University, she was faculty at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She obtained her Ph.D. degree at Stanford University. Her research is on robust and secure perception, localization and navigation with applications to manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous driving cars, as well as space robotics.

Prof. Gao has won a number of awards, including the NSF CAREER Award, the Institute of Navigation Early Achievement Award and the RTCA William E. Jackson Award. She received the Inspiring Early Academic Career Award from Stanford University, Distinguished Promotion Award and Dean's Award for Excellence in Research from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has won Best Paper/Presentation of the Session Awards 29 times at Institute of Navigation conferences over the span of 17 years. For her teaching and advising, Prof. Gao has been on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students multiple times. She won the College of Engineering Everitt Award for Teaching Excellence, the Engineering Council Award for Excellence in Advising, and AIAA Illinois Chapter’s Teacher of the Year. Prof. Gao also received AIAA Stanford Chapter Excellence in Advising Award and Excellence in Teaching Award in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Academic Appointments

• Associate Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics

Honors & Awards

• Best Paper/Presentation of the Session Award (29 times in total), ION GNSS+ Conference (2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2007)
• AIAA Teacher of the Year, AIAA Stanford Chapter (2023)
• AIAA Advisor of the Year, AIAA Stanford Chapter (2022)
• Inspiring Early Academic Career Award, Stanford Faculty Womens Forum (2022)
• Campus Distinguished Promotion Award, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2019)
• List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2018, 2017, 2015, 2014)
• Engineering Council Award for Excellence in Advising, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2018, 2017)
• CAREER Award, National Science Foundation (2018)
• Dean's Award for Excellence in Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2017)
• AIAA Teacher of the Year, AIAA Illinois Chapter (2016)
• Best Paper Award, IEEE/ION PLANS Conference (2016)
• Everitt Award for Teaching Excellence, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2015)
• 50 GNSS Leaders to Watch, GPS World Magazine (2009)
• William E. Jackson Award (for outstanding PhD thesis), Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) (2009)
• Early Achievement Award, Institute of Navigation (2008)

Professional Education

• Ph.D., Stanford University