Ying-Cheng Lai’s path to an elite faculty position at ASU has been chaotic — in a manner of speaking. Lai, who teaches in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, one of the seven Fulton Schools, was recently named an ASU Regents Professor. Lai (at left in photo, with students) earned the high honor in large part for his outstanding accomplishments as a chaos theorist. Chaos theory is a major force in modern advances in physics, quantum mechanics and complex systems that is being increasingly applied not only to science and engineering but to fields like sociology and ecology. Lai is internationally recognized for his research in the field and has attracted more than $12 million in federal funding for his research.