Pramod Khargonekar
Encyclopedia
Pramod Khargonekar was born in Indore, India. He is a well-known expert in control system
s.
Khargonekar earned his bachelor's degree
at the Indian Institutes of Technology
, Bombay. In the late 1970s, he moved to Gainesville, Florida
and studied under the guidance of Rudolf Kalman
—a world authority in systems theory and a professor in the University of Florida Department of Electrical Engineering. In 1980, Khargonekar received a master's degree
in mathematics and in 1981 a doctorate
in electrical engineering
. He soon joined the University of Florida faculty as an assistant professor of electrical engineering.http://www.ece.ufl.edu/people/faculty/khargonekar.html
In 1984, Khargonekar moved to the University of Minnesota
. Five years later, he joined the University of Michigan
faculty, where he eventually became the Claude E. Shannon Professor
and Chairman of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
department.
Khargonekar returned to his alma mater in 2001 to become dean of the College of Engineering. Under his leadership, the University of Florida's College of Engineering has grown tremendously. There were 187 Ph.D.
s awarded last year — almost 100 percent increase during his tenure as Dean. The College’s annual research expenditures have never been higher. Growing more than 60% percent in the same time period, research spending in 2008-09 was almost $110 million. Also since 2001, 23 faculty members have won NSF
CAREER Awards, highly competitive grants given to the nation’s most promising young researchers. Forty faculty members have been named fellows of professional organizations. The College’s USNWR rankings soared. The graduate program ranks 25th among public and private universities and 15th among public universities, in 2001 it was ranked 35th and 20th, respectively. He returned to his teaching and research activities as Eckis Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in July 2009.
Among the most notable of Khargonekar’s accomplishments is the creation of and subsequent endowment for the College’s newest department, biomedical engineering
. Establishing this department was one of Khargonekar’s first priorities upon becoming dean. In 2006, it was renamed the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering in honor of a $10 million gift from the Pruitt family. With matching funds from the state of Florida
, the endowment now exceeds $20 million.
A special issue of the Florida Engineer celebrating his leadership as Dean of Engineering can be found at http://www.thefloridaengineer.eng.ufl.edu/documents/issues/0906.pdf
Khargonekar’s research interests focus on control theory
and its applications. He has received numerous honors and awards, including an NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award, the IEEE W.R.G. Baker Prize Paper Award (1991), the George Axelby Best Paper Award, the Hugo Schuck ACC Best Paper Award, the Japan Society for Promotion of Science Fellowship, and a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He is a Fellow of IEEE. He is among ISI Highly Cited Researchers. At the University of Michigan, he received a teaching excellence award from the EECS department, a research excellence award from the College of Engineering, and the Arthur F. Thurnau Professorship. At the University of Minnesota, he received the George Taylor Distinguished Research Award from the Institute of Technology.
Control system
A control system is a device, or set of devices to manage, command, direct or regulate the behavior of other devices or system.There are two common classes of control systems, with many variations and combinations: logic or sequential controls, and feedback or linear controls...
s.
Khargonekar earned his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
at the Indian Institutes of Technology
Indian Institutes of Technology
The Indian Institutes of Technology are a group of autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institutes of higher education. The IITs are governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 which has declared them as “institutions of national importance”, and lays down their powers, duties,...
, Bombay. In the late 1970s, he moved to Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
and studied under the guidance of Rudolf Kalman
Rudolf Kalman
Rudolf Emil Kálmán is a Hungarian-American electrical engineer, mathematical system theorist, and college professor, who was educated in the United States, and has done most of his work there. He is currently a retired professor from three different institutes of technology and universities...
—a world authority in systems theory and a professor in the University of Florida Department of Electrical Engineering. In 1980, Khargonekar received a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in mathematics and in 1981 a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
. He soon joined the University of Florida faculty as an assistant professor of electrical engineering.http://www.ece.ufl.edu/people/faculty/khargonekar.html
In 1984, Khargonekar moved to the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. Five years later, he joined the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
faculty, where he eventually became the Claude E. Shannon Professor
Claude E. Shannon Award
The Claude E. Shannon Award of the IEEE Information Theory Society was instituted to honour consistent and profound contributions to the field of information theory. Each Shannon Award winner is expected to present a Shannon Lecture at the following IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory...
and Chairman of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
department.
Khargonekar returned to his alma mater in 2001 to become dean of the College of Engineering. Under his leadership, the University of Florida's College of Engineering has grown tremendously. There were 187 Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
s awarded last year — almost 100 percent increase during his tenure as Dean. The College’s annual research expenditures have never been higher. Growing more than 60% percent in the same time period, research spending in 2008-09 was almost $110 million. Also since 2001, 23 faculty members have won NSF
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
CAREER Awards, highly competitive grants given to the nation’s most promising young researchers. Forty faculty members have been named fellows of professional organizations. The College’s USNWR rankings soared. The graduate program ranks 25th among public and private universities and 15th among public universities, in 2001 it was ranked 35th and 20th, respectively. He returned to his teaching and research activities as Eckis Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in July 2009.
Among the most notable of Khargonekar’s accomplishments is the creation of and subsequent endowment for the College’s newest department, biomedical engineering
Biomedical engineering
Biomedical Engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology. This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine: It combines the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to improve...
. Establishing this department was one of Khargonekar’s first priorities upon becoming dean. In 2006, it was renamed the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering in honor of a $10 million gift from the Pruitt family. With matching funds from the state of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, the endowment now exceeds $20 million.
A special issue of the Florida Engineer celebrating his leadership as Dean of Engineering can be found at http://www.thefloridaengineer.eng.ufl.edu/documents/issues/0906.pdf
Khargonekar’s research interests focus on control theory
Control theory
Control theory is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering and mathematics that deals with the behavior of dynamical systems. The desired output of a system is called the reference...
and its applications. He has received numerous honors and awards, including an NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award, the IEEE W.R.G. Baker Prize Paper Award (1991), the George Axelby Best Paper Award, the Hugo Schuck ACC Best Paper Award, the Japan Society for Promotion of Science Fellowship, and a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He is a Fellow of IEEE. He is among ISI Highly Cited Researchers. At the University of Michigan, he received a teaching excellence award from the EECS department, a research excellence award from the College of Engineering, and the Arthur F. Thurnau Professorship. At the University of Minnesota, he received the George Taylor Distinguished Research Award from the Institute of Technology.