UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Prasenjit Mitra , professor of information sciences and technology (IST), has been named associate dean for research in the College of IST. Mitra accepted the position effective Jan. 1.
In his role, Mitra is responsible for driving the college’s strategic research priorities; fostering collaboration with institutional, federal, and industry partners; and representing IST in research-related activities.
“It is an honor and a privilege to lead some of the world’s finest researchers in the areas of big data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, human-centered design, privacy and security, and social informatics,” said Mitra. “IST is poised to play a leading role in enabling major research advances and making pivotal contributions to the university’s research vision for the next decade. I look forward to working to catalyze high-impact interdisciplinary research in the college and the University.”
Mitra’s current research focuses on big data analytics, applied machine learning, artificial intelligence and visual analytics. His past research has explored problems in database systems, information retrieval, data mining and digital libraries. He has coauthored more than 150 peer-reviewed conference papers, 30 journal articles, several book chapters, and articles in periodicals, and has received various recognitions and honors including the NSF CAREER Award in 2009.
“Dr. Mitra has demonstrated leadership through his previous roles within the college, and we are excited to have him assume this new responsibility,” said Andrew Sears, dean of IST. “He is committed to supporting the faculty of the college as we continue to grow and strengthen IST’s interdisciplinary research profile.”
Prior to joining IST in 2003, he developed database software at Oracle Corporation and worked as a senior engineer at Narus and DBWizards. He earned his doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 2004, his master’s degree in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994, and his bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, in 1993.