Vijay Kumar Named Dean of Penn Engineering

Vijay Kumar has been named dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering andApplied Science, effective July 1. The announcement was made today by Penn President AmyGutmann and Provost Vincent Price.

"Vijay's superb academic judgment, compelling vision for the future of engineering and appliedscience, and proven track record as a leader and administrator make him the perfect choice to leadPenn Engineering," Gutmann said. "Vijay is one of the most recognized figures in his field and hasbeen instrumental in the development of extraordinary new technologies. That experience will beinvaluable in leading the School through what we know will be dynamic years ahead."

Kumar joined the Penn Engineering faculty in 1987 and currently serves as UPS FoundationProfessor with appointments in the departments of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics,Computer and Information Science and Electrical and Systems Engineering. As deputy dean foreducation in 2008-12, he was instrumental in the creation of several innovative master's degreeprograms.

Earlier, he served in 2005-08 as chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and AppliedMechanics, in 2000-04 as deputy dean for research and in 1998-2004 as director of the GeneralRobotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception, or GRASP, Laboratory, a multidisciplinary roboticsand perception lab. During a scholarly leave in 2012-14, he served in the White House as assistantdirector for robotics and cyber physical systems in the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

"I am honored and excited to serve as the next dean of Penn Engineering," Kumar said. "Technologywill play a key role in addressing global challenges in the coming decade, from health care tosecurity to sustainability and beyond. Penn Engineering, with a distinguished faculty and state-o--the-art facilities, is uniquely positioned to make the scientific advances required to develop thesetechnologies and to train students to create innovative solutions to the problems confronting oursociety. I look forward to partnering with Penn Engineering's incredible faculty, students, staff,alumni and friends to take our school to even greater heights."

Kumar is recognized around the world for hisgroundbreaking work on the development of autonomousrobots and on biologically inspired algorithms for collectivebehavior. The author of more than 400 refereed articles andpapers and more than 20 books and book chapters, he is amember of the National Academy of Engineering and aFellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineersand of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the National Science FoundationPresidential Young Investigator Award, Penn's Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, theASME Mechanisms and Robotics Award, the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society DistinguishedService Award and the Engelberger Robotics Award. He has mentored doctoral students who arethemselves leaders in research and education. He is also an exemplar of Penn's commitment to

innovation and entrepreneurship. He and his students have founded several companies usingtechnologies and tools developed in his research programs.