Carnegie Mellon University has appointed Indian American computer scientist Jignesh Patel as founding dean and vice president of CMU Miami, its planned new campus in Florida.
Patel’s appointment announced Oct. 20 follows a more than $3 billion philanthropic investment from Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel and founder of Griffin Catalyst. The investment includes $2 billion to establish the Miami campus and $1 billion for Carnegie Mellon’s Pittsburgh campus.
Other supporters include the Semiconductor Research Corporation and technology companies such as Google, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Samsung and Snowflake.
Patel will lead efforts to recruit faculty and students, develop public- and private-sector partnerships, and establish the new campus as a center for research and innovation. He has already helped shape its academic mission, research priorities and educational direction, according to the university.
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Carnegie Mellon President Farnam Jahanian said Patel’s experience as a scholar, educator and entrepreneur would help bring the university’s vision for the campus to life.
Patel joined Carnegie Mellon in 2023 after holding appointments at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Michigan. He is a faculty member in the university’s Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science and has served as interim head of its Computer Science Department since 2025.
Patel’s research focuses on scalable algorithms for data systems and natural language interfaces for data analysis. His work has received support from federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Department of Homeland Security.
At Carnegie Mellon, Patel has worked to update the undergraduate computing curriculum, strengthening foundational problem-solving skills and promoting responsible use of artificial intelligence.
He has received teaching honors from the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for Computing Machinery and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Patel earned his bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, and his master’s and doctoral degrees in computer science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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Patel has co-founded four companies, all of which were acquired. One company developed an early parallel database system for structured and spatial data using his research.
He also helped establish a statewide venture accelerator for science- and technology-based startups in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s business school.
His work included founding a computer science entrepreneurship competition and serving on the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Committee.
CMU Miami will organize its education and research around societal challenges rather than traditional academic disciplines. Its planned research priorities include human health and biological discovery, national security and strategic capabilities, energy and climate resilience, and advanced manufacturing and industrial transformation.
The university plans to begin enrolling graduate students in 2028, subject to regulatory approvals. Professor Phil Gibbons has been appointed interim head of the Computer Science Department while the university searches for a permanent department head.