ME Alum Named Dean of Penn Engineering

Following a comprehensive search, ME alum Vijay Kumar has been named dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science, effective July 1, 2015.

In the announcement, Penn President Amy Gutmann said, “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.”

Kumar joined the Penn Engineering faculty in 1987 and currently serves as UPS Foundation Professor with appointments in the departments of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Computer and Information Science and Electrical and Systems Engineering.  As former deputy dean for education, he was instrumental in the creation of several innovative master’s degree programs.

Kumar previously served as chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, as deputy dean of research and director of the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Laboratory, a multidisciplinary robotics and perception lab. He also served in the White House as assistant director for robotics and cyber physical systems in the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Kumar is recognized around the world for his groundbreaking work on the development of more than 400 refereed articles and papers and more than 20 books and book chapters, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.  He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including Ohio State University’s Presidential Fellowship, the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, Penn’s Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, and the ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Award, among others.

Kumar earned his PhD and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at Ohio State and his bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India.  His creative theoretical, algorithmic and experimental work on cooperating robots has transformed the science of robotics systems and impacted a wide range of application in the area of networked and cyber physical systems.

“Kumar has the experience and vision – and the deep knowledge of Penn and Penn Engineering – critical to moving our engineering and applied science programs to a position of global preeminence,” said Provost Vincent Price.