Courtesy of the President's Office
Vijay Kumar has been named the new dean of The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He replaces Eduardo Glandt, who had previously been dean for the past 17 years.
“Vijay’s superb academic judgment, compelling vision for the future of engineering and applied science, and proven track record as a leader and administrator make him the perfect choice to lead Penn Engineering,” Gutmann said in the press release.
Kumar is world-renowned for his work on the development of autonomous robots and biologically inspired algorithms for collective behavior. He is the author of more than 400 papers and more than 20 books and book chapters and has received numerous honors and awards for his research and teaching.
Kumar “has the experience and vision — and the deep knowledge of Penn and Penn Engineering — that are critical to moving our engineering and applied science programs to a position of global preeminence,” Provost Vincent Price said in the release.
Kumar is currently a UPS foundation professor appointed in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Computer and Information Science and Electrical and Systems Engineering. He also served as the deputy dean for education from 2008 to 2012. From 2012 to 2014 he served as an assistant director for robotics and cyber physical systems in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House.
Kumar’s appointment will be effective July 1.
“I am honored and excited to serve as the next dean of Penn Engineering,” Kumar said.
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