Penn State has selected Vasant Honavar as the inaugural vice provost for artificial intelligence (AI) to guide a comprehensive AI strategy and advance the University’s leadership in human-centered and ethical AI innovation across teaching, learning, research and operations.
Indian American researcher Honavar, who has a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering from Bangalore University, will begin his appointment on June 1, according to a university release.
He currently serves as the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Biomedical Data Sciences and Artificial Intelligence in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and a professor in the Department of Informatics and Intelligent Systems in the College of Information Sciences and Technology.
In his new position, Honavar, who will report to Senior Vice Provost and Chief of Staff Josh Davis, will collaboratively develop and implement Penn State’s AI Transformation initiative. He will collaborate with the AI Coordinating Council, the AI Student Advisory Group, and other AI working groups and advisory bodies.
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“I am honored to serve as vice provost for artificial intelligence at Penn State,” Honavar said. “At a time when AI is reshaping discovery, learning, creative endeavors and the nature of work, Penn State has a unique opportunity, indeed, a responsibility — to lead by reimagining the land-grant mission in a world being transformed by AI. I look forward to working with University leadership, faculty, staff and students to build a coordinated and impactful AI strategy that advances research and education and delivers tangible benefits to communities across the commonwealth and beyond.”
Honavar joined Penn State in 2013 as the Edward Frymoyer Chair of Information Sciences and Technology and currently serves as director of strategic initiatives in the Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences.
He is also the founding director of the Penn State Center for Artificial Intelligence Foundations and Scientific Applications which brings together faculty expertise to advance the development and applications of AI methods and tools to accelerate discovery across life sciences, materials sciences, health sciences and related fields.
At Penn State, Honavar has worked to expand AI educational offerings by co-leading the development of the curricula for the bachelor of science in artificial intelligence methods and applications, as well as an inter-college undergraduate degree in data sciences.
He also co-led an NIH-funded biomedical data sciences interdisciplinary doctoral training program — drawing on faculty expertise across multiple academic programs and campuses.
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Prior to joining Penn State, Honavar served on the faculty of computer science at Iowa State University from 1990 to 2013, where he co-led the development of one of the first doctoral programs in bioinformatics and computational biology.
Honavar also served as a program director in the NSF’s Division of Information and Intelligent Systems, where he led the Big Data Science and Engineering Program from 2010 to 2013.
Honavar was recognized with the NSF Director’s Award for Superior Accomplishment in 2013 for his leadership of the Big Data Program and was elected as a fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science for his contributions to leadership and research in data science.
Honavar earned both a doctorate and master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin Madison and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University.