I am pleased to announce the reappointment of Professor Deepa Kundur as Chair of the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering for a five-year term commencing July 1, 2024.
Professor Deepa Kundur first joined the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering in 1999 as an Assistant Professor. After taking a position at Texas A&M University in 2003, she returned to the University of Toronto in 2012, joining as a Full Professor. She is a triple alumna of the Department. Professor Kundur held the position of Associate Chair, Division of Engineering Science from 2014 to 2016, later becoming Director of the same unit from 2017 to 2019. Under her leadership as Director of the Division of Engineering Science, Professor Kundur spearheaded the creation of Canada’s first engineering major in Machine Intelligence, now the most popular major in Engineering Science. Her tenure also saw a significant expansion of international research opportunities for students and a substantial increase in the enrollment of women.
Since July 2019, Professor Kundur has served as Chair of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE), one of the largest departments at the University of Toronto. In this role, she has continued to demonstrate strategic leadership on multiple fronts. Her initiatives have led to significant improvements through lab revitalization, directly enhancing student experiential learning. Through her dedicated efforts, the ECE Department has increased the enrollment of first year women students to approximately 40% and welcomed the largest cohort of incoming women in the history of the Department. Furthermore, under her stewardship, the department has gained prestigious recognitions and resources. It welcomed one of the two Canada Excellence Research Chairs awarded to the University of Toronto, attracted a North York General Hospital Chair, and competitively secured a Provostial Deep Learning faculty position in artificial intelligence. Alumni engagement tripled, and her advancement efforts culminated in a generous $1 million donation for lab modernization.
Throughout her career, Professor Kundur has received numerous recognitions for research and teaching. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.
Please join me in congratulating Deepa on her reappointment and wishing her a rewarding journey.
I extend my deep appreciation to the following members of the Advisory Committee in this search for their time and thoughtful input:
· Professor John Peever, Vice-Dean Students, School of Graduate Studies (SGS)
· Associate Professor Teaching Stream Khoman Phang, ECE
· Assistant Professor Shurui Zhou, ECE
· Professor Sean Hum, ECE
· Professor Amr Helmy, ECE
· Associate Professor Paul Yoo, ECE and Institute of Biomedical Engineering (BME)
· Professor Eyal de Lara, Chair, Department of Computer Science
· Nelson Lee, Undergraduate Student, ECE
· Osama Zeeshan Ahmad, Graduate Student, ECE
· Chris Balarajah, Director of Administration and Finance, ECE