The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science officially welcomed its newest chair, Scott Acton, on Sept. 2. Acton, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, joined UVA's faculty in 2000. He holds a courtesy appointment in biomedical engineering and leads theVirginia Image and Video Analysisresearch group. Acton has distinguished himself in research in the areas of signal, image and video processing and analysis, authoring or co-authoring more than 300 publications. The National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Defense and private industry have awarded grants to support his research. Signal and image processing contributes to the department's bold ideas forbiomedical systems and data science, a cross-cutting area that draws onresearch strengthsin machine learning, devices and circuits, and cyber-physical systems. UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer L. West announced Acton's appointment in January 2022. “Scott saw the possibilities at the intersection of engineering and medicine and set a foundation for the School's prominence inEngineering for Health, producing path-finding research to help medical professionals diagnose and treat disease,†West said. “Scott's knowledge of the research enterprise and dedication to creating a meaningful student experience positions us for continued growth, not only in health but also in sustainability and the cyber future.†For the past several years Acton has split his responsibilities between UVA and the National Science Foundation'sDirectorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, where he served as program director.James H. Aylor, professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering and UVA Engineering dean emeritus, served as the department's interim chair, enabling Acton to complete his work for NSF. We talked to Acton about his interest in electrical engineering and path to UVA, the research he has pursued at UVA and the NSF, opportunities within the field of electrical and computer engineering, and his priorities for the department in the year ahead. Q: Tell us a little bit about your background – where you grew up and went to school, and how you became interested in electrical engineering. A. I was born in Los Angeles. My parents moved to the East Coast when I was 3. I grew up in Vienna, Virginia, and attended Oakton High School. So I can relate to many of our students who are also from Northern Virginia. I became interested in electrical engineering at a very young age. My dad bought a Commodore PET, one of the world's first personal computers, in 1979, and I became fascinated with programming and computer hardware. It's been a lifetime of computing for me. I joined the field of engineering even before I earned my college degree, working at AT&T and Mitre. For college, I went to Virginia Tech, and continue to appreciate the close collaboration of faculty and students across the Commonwealth. What path did you take into academe? I earned my Ph.D. in electrical engineering at UT Austin, supported by Motorola. I was able to work there during the summers and for a little bit after I graduated, so I got some semiconductor experience at a fabrication plant. Today's market and overseas supply chains represent a huge change from the 1990s when I worked at Motorola. I am eager to see the impact that the CHIPs Act will have on domestic manufacturing of advanced chips. My first job in the academy was at Oklahoma State University. I spent half a decade there before coming back to my home state, joining UVA in 2000.