A computer science professor whose research transformed how Internet service providers respond to cyber threats has been chosen to head the National Science Foundation’s directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE).
Farnam Jahanian, professor and chair for the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, will assume the new post on Feb. 1. He will retain his U-M professorship during his tenure at NSF, but a search will begin for a new computer science and engineering chair.
Jahanian
“NSF is proud that Dr. Jahanian will join us in this leadership capacity,” says NSF Acting Director Cora Marrett. “His extensive knowledge of and research in network infrastructures and his support for entrepreneurship and commercialization has already had a great impact on the nation’s development of cybersecurity. And he has made tremendous strides in showcasing how innovative university research can be paired with private industry.”
Jahanian will guide and manage funding for the federal agency that supports research in computer and information science and engineering. CISE’s FY2010 budget is more than $620 million. The agency works to uphold the nation’s leadership in computer and information science and engineering. It promotes understanding of the uses of advanced computer, communications, and information systems in service to society.
“Professor Jahanian has conducted outstanding research into fundamental issues with respect to Internet infrastructure and security while at Michigan, and has found ways to turn those discoveries into innovations of great value to society and the commercial sector,” says Phil Hanlon, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “His scholarly credentials, vision, and executive experience uniquely qualify him for this leadership role at CISE directorate.”
Jahanian, the Edward S. Davidson Collegiate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has been a member of U-M faculty since 1993. For four years, he was the director of the department’s Software Systems Laboratory and since 2007 he has served as chair. Prior to joining the Michigan faculty, he was a research staff member at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in New York.
“Farnam Jahanian’s leadership has helped to strengthen Michigan Engineering’s position at the forefront of computer science and engineering research and education. We are proud that his expertise, experience and insights will be utilized at a national level,” says David Munson, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering.
Jahanian adds, “I am thrilled to join the leadership team at NSF as the CISE directorate continues to play a critical role in enabling this transformation through its support for long-term basic research and training of computing professionals.”
