News and Events

 

New College of Information Technology Dean Appointed

The UAE University's Provost, Dr Hume, is pleased to announce the appointment of a new dean of the College of Information Technology (CIT).

After a thorough search, supported by an advisory committee and an international search firm, the Vice Chancellor and the Provost offered the CIT deanship to Dr Eyad Abed from the University of Maryland, College Park.  Dr Abed accepted the offer.

"Dr Abed ... embraces the collaborative possibilities
 that will infuse interdisciplinary opportunities of research and
 growth in the College"

New Dean and New Ambitions for the College

Dr Abed has long had a passion for scientific inquiry and scholarship, as well as for a broad range of applications, and will bring an extremely vibrant perspective to the advancement of the research and education agenda of the CIT.  He recognizes and embraces the collaborative possibilities that will infuse interdisciplinary opportunities of research and growth in the College. 

During his presentation to the CIT faculty and students, he outlined some of the specific steps he hopes to take to move the College forward, namely, an early assessment of the CIT to build on its major strengths and through consultations with the faculty, the development of an agreement on a common vision of priorities in research, education and outreach.  These key elements will support the efforts of establishing an institute of cross-disciplinary research across the university and industry.

Future aspirations include the early development of the PhD program, establishing a new post-doctoral fellowship program and forming strong linkages with leading researchers worldwide.

Brief Biographical Information

Dr Eyad Abed received the B. S. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1979, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in 1981 and 1982, respectively, from the University of California at Berkeley, all in Electrical Engineering.  He has been a faculty member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Maryland since 1983, where he is presently a Professor.  In 2002, he began service as the Director of the Institute for Systems Research, a permanent research institute at the University of Maryland that had its origins as an NSF Engineering Research Center established in 1985 through a major grant in which Dr Abed was a co-investigator. 

Research and Successes

Dr Abed’s research interests include system and control theory; systems engineering and software engineering; analysis and design of complex networks, including communication networks and social networks; electric power system dynamics and control; and aerospace control systems. 

With numerous publications, Dr Abed has also been the recipient of many awards, including the Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation, the O. Hugo Schuck Best Paper Award from the American Automatic Control Council, a Senior Fulbright Scholar Award from the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars, the Alan Berman Research Publication Award from the Naval Research Laboratory, and two teaching awards from the University of Maryland. 

Dr Abed is also a Fellow of the IEEE and serves as Vice President for Financial Activities of the IEEE Control Systems Society. 

The University looks forward to Dr Abed and his wife Wendy joining the community here at the UAEU, in Fall 2009. 

A Special Thank You to Dr Boumediene

Dr Hume would also like to take this opportunity to express sincere thanks to Professor Boumediene Belkhouche for his leadership as interim dean during this time of transition, and to say thanks in advance for his assistance to Dr Abed as he begins his new responsibilities.

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