Professor Ravishankar ("Ravi") Iyer, who is the George and Ann Fisher Distinguished Professor of Engineering, Director of the Coordinated Science Laboratory (CSL), and Chief Scientist of the Information Trust Institute (ITI), has been chosen to serve as interim vice chancellor for research for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, pending approval of the Board of Trustees.
"Ravi is also well known for his leadership skills and I am delighted to have him as part of the campus leadership team," stated Chancellor Richard Herman. "CSL is characterized by its outreach across campus and the promotion of large multi-disciplinary projects, and as its director, (Ravi) has taken the laboratory to a level of visibility and multi-disciplinary excellence, characteristic of the best on this campus and indeed, the nation."
The vice chancellor for research is the senior campus officer with responsibility for advancing research at Illinois. His office works with college deans, department heads, faculty, and graduate students, as well as external agencies and groups, on behalf of the university's research and graduate programs
Iyer, who has served as CSL director since 2000, is a professor of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, an affiliate professor of the Department of Computer Science, director of the Motorola Center for Communication, and co-director of the Center for Reliable and High-performance Computing. For his own research, Iyer has been recognized as having made fundamental and pioneering contributions to the design and validation of reliable and secure computing systems.
Iyer replaces Charles ("Chip") Zukoski, who has served as the vice chancellor for research since June 2002. Zukoski, who is the William H. and Janet G. Lycan Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, is planning to return to the faculty.
Writers: Rick Kubetz with contributions from Jenny Applequist. Contact: Jenny Applequist, Information Trust Institute, 217/244-8920, applequi AT iti.uiuc.edu.
June 17, 2008