Raj Acharya has been named the new dean of the IU School of Informatics and Computing.
July 1 will be Acharya’s first day, according to an IU press release. His appointment will be subject to the IU Board of Trustees’ confirmation.
Acharya is currently a professor and director of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania.
IU Provost Lauren Robel said in the release Acharya’s “inclusive, interdisciplinary and international vision” is what makes him the ideal leader for the School of Informatics and Computing.
“He has deep experience in bringing faculty together to create new programs, as well as in bringing together existing programs and inspiring people in new ways,” Robel said in the release. “I am eager to work with him to continue the momentum of this innovative and important school.”
Acharya was selected in a nationwide search by a committee of alumni, faculty representatives and students created last fall.
He holds a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine.
Acharya is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
For 14 years, Acharya served as Penn State’s head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
He was appointed to conduct classified research at the Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, was a research scientist as General Electric (Thomson) CSF Laboratory in Paris and was a research fellow for labs at NASA and the the U.S. Department of Defense.
At Penn State, Acharya began four centers of excellence, created a graduate certificate in Embedded Systems and in security, and brought together a team to secure a National Science Foundation research infrastructure grant.
Penn State’s computer science research expenditure moved from 64th in the nation in 2001 to eighth in the nation in 2013, during Acharya’s time at the school, according to the release.
The department was also awarded a $10 million National Science Foundation Expedition award, a $35.5 million U.S. Army Network Sciences Award and a $48 million U.S. Army Collaborative Research Alliances Award.
Acharya also serves on the board of a technology based-economic development organization called VideoMining and Technology Collaborative.
Acharya has developed systems widely used in academia and industry, according to the release, and is a published scholar and a thought leader on big data mining, network sciences and engineering, and genomics.
The School of Informatics and Computing’s national reputation as one of the first and finest programs in the nation attracted Acharya to the school, he said in the release.
He was also drawn by the opportunity to help build the school’s new engineering program and to work on solutions to challenges the nation is currently facing.
One of Acharya’s goals is to bring scholars of different fields together to promote interdisciplinary research.
Acharya said in the release he believes the School of Informatics and Computing is the ideal place for this collaboration because of its scholars in areas like computer science, informatics, information and library science, as well as intelligent systems engineering.
“Once you bring all of these people together, there’s a cross-pollination of ideas,” Acharya said in the release. “Usually, the most exciting research happens at the frontiers of fields.”
Brad Wheeler, who has served as the School of Informatics and Computing’s interim dean since last November, said in the release he is delighted to see Acharya join the school.
Wheeler also said in the release Acharya is coming to the school at a tremendous time of momentum in helping strengthening the state’s economy.
“He has an extraordinary record of bringing people together,” Wheeler said in the release. “His record of achievement in leading teams to excellence in research and education is outstanding.”
Carley Lanich
