Farshad Fotouhi, chair of the Department of Computer Science at Wayne State University, has been appointed dean of the University's College of Engineering.

Wayne State Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Ronald Brown, who made the announcement, said Fotouhi is well-suited for the post. "The College of Engineering is positioned to build on its already solid foundation of teaching and learning, research and scholarship," Brown said. "Dr. Fotouhi has the experience and enthusiasm to increase the college's standing on both statewide and national levels, and I am pleased that he has accepted this important leadership role."

As chair of the Department of Computer Science, Fotouhi has developed and implemented a series of comprehensive strategic plans. These have resulted in marked increases in national rankings and external funding, as well as recognition of improved research quality.

He will work with the college's staff to oversee the continued recruitment of top faculty and undergraduate and graduate students. At Wayne State, Fotouhi said, students have an opportunity to pursue innovative specialties such as alternative energy technology, entrepreneurial engineering, and production management leadership. They also may participate in pioneering research activities and co-op programs as interns in local industry.

"I am excited to serve as the next dean of the College of Engineering, and look forward to meeting the challenges ahead and equipping our students with the skills to compete in tomorrow's workforce," Fotouhi said. "My goal is to make the college nationally and internationally known for excellence in research and teaching. I trust that qualified students from across Michigan will see Wayne State as a top choice for engineering education."

Fotouhi joined Wayne State University in 1988. Prior to being appointed chair of the Department of Computer Science, he was associate chair from 2000-2004 and a member of the faculty. He received a WSU College of Science Teaching Excellence Award in 1996 and several Best Paper Awards at various national and international conferences. Before joining WSU, he was a faculty member of the Lyman Briggs School at Michigan State University.

Fotouhi's research interests include Biomedical Informatics, the Semantic Web and Multimedia Systems. He has published more than 180 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, Michigan Life Sciences Corridor, as well as Ford Motor Company and other companies. While at WSU he has secured more than $9 million in research funding and contributions.

Since joining WSU, Fotouhi has graduated 25 Ph.D. and 30 M.S. students. More than half of his Ph.D. graduates are tenure-track or tenured faculty at institutions in Michigan and across the country. Many of his graduates hold executive positions in industry and corporate America.

Fotouhi has been a program committee member for various conferences related to his research interests and is a member of the Editorial Board of IEEE Multimedia Magazine, chair of the Steering Committee of IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, and a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Semantic Web and Information Systems. In recent years, Fotouhi has organized several workshops including the Workshop on Privacy in Information Society, the IEEE Workshop on Scientific Workflow, and the ACM Workshop on the Many Faces of Multimedia Semantics.

He holds a bachelor's in Computer Science from Western Michigan University and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the College of Engineering at Michigan State University.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.