Indian American Professor Garud Iyengar Named Director of Columbia University’s Data Science Institute
- He is also the Tang family professor of operations in the department of industrial engineering and operations research since January 2020.
Columbia University professor Garud Iyengar has been appointed new director of its Data Science Institute (DSI) effective July 1. The Indian American is currently the senior vice dean for research and academic programs at the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), a position he has held since November 2021. He is also been the Tang family professor of operations in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research since January 2020. He will replace Clifford Stein, the institute’s interim director, interim provost Dennis A. Mitchell recently announced.
Iyengar previously served as the associate director for research at the DSI from 2017 to 2019 and has played “central roles” at the institute since its founding in 2012, according to the announcement.
DSI “seeks to unite the university’s expertise in data science, drawing on its strengths in computer science, statistics, and industrial engineering and operations research,” according to the Columbia Spectator. Iyengar will also co-lead Columbia’s artificial intelligence initiative with Jeannette Wing, and Shih-Fu Chang.
Iyengar’s research is focused on understanding uncertain systems and exploiting available information using data-driven control and optimization algorithms. He and his students have explored applications in many diverse fields, such as machine learning, systemic risk, asset management, operations management, sports analytics, and biology.
In a statement sent to the Columbia Spectator, Iyengar said he’s “honored” to be chosen as the next director of the Data Science Institute. “As someone who was involved with the Institute from its inception, I’ve seen the enormous [impact] DSI has had on research, and teaching and learning, at Columbia. It has become an invaluable resource and hub for collaboration across our schools.”
He received a B.Tech in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in 1993 and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1998. He is a member of Columbia’s Data Science Institute.
(Top photo, Courtesy of Columbia University)