ABINGTON, Pa. — Penn State Abington talks with new faculty member, Vinayak Elangovan, assistant professor of computer science.
- Education: Bachelor’s degree, Instrumentation and Control Engineering, Madras University, India; master's and doctoral degrees, Computer Information Systems Engineering, Tennessee State University.
- Previous academic posts: Tennessee State University, The College of New Jersey, St. Olaf College
- Etc.: Elangovan speaks English, Hindi and Tamil.
Penn State Abington (PSA): Why did you choose Abington?
Elangovan: Penn State Abington enjoys the reputation of providing a well-balanced environment for teaching and research activities. There are internal grant opportunities to support faculty research and for building an innovative classroom environment. The undergraduate research program provides unique opportunities for faculty to engage students and expose them to research activities.
PSA: Abington is committed to providing high impact learning. How do you provide these experiences to students?
Elangovan: I believe that all students deserve a great learning experience — one that fosters their knowledge, empowers them with skills, and prepares them to excel at their career goals in an exceedingly competitive environment. I expect to cater to the needs of all my students by providing them a strong foundation and through staying on top of the current technologies and needs through real-world examples.
I strongly believe in training students to excel individually and work in teams. Teamwork and communication skills are as important as the technical skills to successfully face the real world.