Pradeep Khosla

Pradeep Khosla
Khosla in 2018
Chancellor of University of California, San Diego
Incumbent
Assumed office
August 1, 2012
Preceded byMarye Anne Fox
Personal details
Born
Pradeep Kumar Khosla

(1957-03-13) March 13, 1957 (age 67)
Bombay, India (now Mumbai)
EducationIndian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (BTech)
Carnegie Mellon University (MS, PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsElectrical engineering
Institutions
ThesisReal-Time Control and Identification of Direct-Drive Manipulators (Robotics) (1986)
Doctoral advisorTakeo Kanade

Pradeep Kumar Khosla (born March 13, 1957)[1] is an Indian-American computer scientist and university administrator. He is the current chancellor of the University of California, San Diego since August 1, 2012.[2]

He is also a former electrical engineering professor and dean at the Carnegie Mellon College of Engineering.[3]

Career

A native of Mumbai, India,[4] Khosla received a Bachelor of Technology degree with honors from IIT Kharagpur in 1980.[5][6]

He received his MS and PhD degree from Carnegie Mellon University and became an assistant professor in 1986 and a professor in 2008 at CMU where held several administrative and leadership positions. In 2004, he was appointed Dean at CMU and again in 2009.[7]

He serves and has served on the advisory boards of several universities, committees, corporations[8] and government organizations.These include DARPA, CSIRO, World Economic Forum, National Research Council, NASA etc.[9]

In 2012, Khosla was appointed the eighth chancellor of the University of California, San Diego.[10] He was appointed to the position by the president of the University of California.[11][12] His term began August 1, 2012, following the resignation of the previous chancellor, Marye Anne Fox.

Khosla became the highest-paid Chancellor in the UC system after he received a $500,000 annual raise in April 2023, bringing his total salary to $1.14 million. The raise was funded entirely by private donations to a new endowed chair.[13]

He chaired the Engineering and Computer Science jury for the Infosys Prize from 2011 to 2018.[14]

Research

Khosla’s research has resulted in three books and more than 350 journal articles and conference and book contributions.[citation needed] His interests are multidisciplinary encompassing the areas of internet-enabled collaborative design and distributed manufacturing, collaborating autonomous systems, agent-based architectures for distributed design and embedded control, software composition and reconfigurable software for real-time embedded systems, reconfigurable and distributed robotic systems, integrated design-assembly planning systems and distributed information systems.[15]

Achievements

Khosla is the recipient of several awards including the ASEE George Westinghouse Award (1999),[16] the Silicon-India Leadership award for Excellence in Academics and Technology (2000),[citation needed] the W. Wallace McDowell Award from IEEE Computer Society (2001),[17] the Cyber Education Champion Award from the Business Software Alliance (2007),[18] Lifetime Achievement Award of the Computers and Information in Engineering Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (2009),[19] and the Pan IIT Academic Excellence Award (2009).

He has also been elected as a Fellow of IEEE (1995),[20] the American Association of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) (2003),[21] the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2004),[22] the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (2010),[23][24] and member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) (2006).[25]

Criticism from 2024 Pro-Palestine Encampment

On May 1, 2024, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) San Diego organized and established a campsite on Library Walk Lawn, next to UC San Diego Health Clinic, to protest against Israeli military operations in Palestine. The encampment lasted until May 6, when it ended with police forces in riot gear and carrying batons disassembling the camps and dispersing the protesters. Police arrested 64 individuals (40 students and 24 non-affiliates) during the operation.[26] All arrested individuals were later released on the same day.

Following this operation, UCSD and Chancellor Khosla received criticism from various organizations, students, and faculty members. Critics focused on the use of police force against what they described as a peaceful protest and the perceived intimidation tactics used during the encampment.[27]

University correspondence stated that the decision to deploy police forces was due to concerns over campus safety and accessibility, claiming the encampment had severely disrupted these aspects as it had grown to three times its original size. The Office of the Chancellor also issued several notices reminding the community that the encampment was in violation of San Diego law and UCSD policy, citing potential consequences such as interim suspension, contract termination (in the case of UCSD staff), or arrest. Critics, however, challenged these claims and pointed to the use of police as a significant issue.

The Literature, Ethnic Studies, and Music departments of UCSD released statements in opposition to the University's handling of the encampment, signed by some of their respective faculty members. Among other demands, some of these letters demanded Khosla's resignation and a reevaluation of UCSD's protest policies. On the students' side, the presidents of the student councils of Revelle College, Warren College, Eleanor Roosevelt College, and John Muir College issued statements similarly in opposition to the University and Khosla. Jewish Voice for Peace and the Student Promoted Access Center for Education and Services released similar statements. The United Auto Workers (UAW) decided to vote for authorization to strike in response to the clearing of the encampment, as union members were among those arrested. The Associated Students, Che Cafe Collective, Groundworks Bookstore, General Store Collective, UC San Diego Food Cooperative, and KSDT Radio also expressed their solidarity with the Gaza Solidarity Encampment and condemned the use of police.

Allegations of Professional Misconduct

Khosla was sued in June 2019 by former UC San Diego Associate Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences Jean Ford. Ford's lawsuit alleged that Chancellor Khosla verbally harassed and discriminated against female employees during her time at UCSD.[28] A settlement was reached in 2020.[29] In November 2022, the UC Regents and Compliance and Audit Officer of UC Regents, Alexander Bustamente, were sued for retaliation in violation of labor codes regarding a whistleblower complaint investigation of Khosla in 2018. The lawsuit alleged that, "the UC Regents and Bustamente protected Khosla by choosing not to allow investigations into gender discrimination allegations against Khosla and by removing[...]submitted findings regarding Khosla’s bullying, alcohol use, discrimination, and other inappropriate and illegal behavior."[30] The investigation involved nine current and former UCSD employees.[31][32]

References

  1. ^ "Dr. Pradeep P. [sic] Khosla's VIP Report". Texas A&M University. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  2. ^ UC San Diego Office of the Chancellor
  3. ^ US colleges learn business mantra from Indian gurus like Soumitra Dutta, Pradeep K Khosla and Dipak C Jain
  4. ^ Curran, Ann (Fall 2001), The seats of wisdom, vol. 20, Carnegie Mellon University, archived from the original on May 31, 2018, retrieved April 21, 2018
  5. ^ "Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Kharagpur - Dr. Pradeep K. Khosla". Alumni Network. Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. 2006. Archived from the original on 2012-08-26. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  6. ^ The America Times (June 6, 2012). "INTERVIEW – PART TWO – Pradeep Khosla on His IIT Days and Vision for Future". The America Times. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  7. ^ Carnegie Mellon Press Releases, Carnegie Mellon Reappoints Pradeep Khosla Dean of College of Engineering(link is dead)
  8. ^ "Avigilon Welcomes Pradeep Khosla to Board of Directors". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  9. ^ Professor Pradeep K. Khosla, CIT Dean Biography page Archived 2012-07-23 at archive.today
  10. ^ Ishani, Duttagupta (May 18, 2012). "Pradeep K Khosla, an IITian, appointed chancellor of University of California". Economic Times. Archived from the original on September 1, 2014. Indian American Pradeep K. Khosla, currently the dean of Carnegie Mellon University's engineering college, has been named as the 8th chancellor of University of California San Diego by UC president Mark G. Yudof.
  11. ^ IIT alumnus named the next UC San Diego chancellor
  12. ^ "UC President Mark G. Yudof announces his selection for UC San Diego Chancellor".
  13. ^ Robbins, Gary (11 April 2023). "UC San Diego chancellor given $500,000 pay raise to prevent him from taking presidency at private school". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  14. ^ Foundation, Infosys Science. "Infosys Prize - Jury 2018".
  15. ^ Professor Pradeep K. Khosla, Computer Science Biography page
  16. ^ "Past National Award Winners (page 1), section George Westinghouse Award". American Society for Engineering Education. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  17. ^ "Past recipients for W. Wallace McDowell Award". IEEE Computer Society. Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  18. ^ "Carnegie Mellon Dean Awarded Cyber Education Champion Award". Business Software Alliance. March 7, 2007. Archived from the original on 2010-12-31. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  19. ^ "Division Awards". Computers and Information in Engineering Division. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Retrieved February 9, 2013.[permanent dead link‍]
  20. ^ "Fellow Class of 1995". IEEE. Archived from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  21. ^ "Elected AAAI Fellows". Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  22. ^ "Fellows". American Association for the Advancement of Science. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  23. ^ "List of all ASME Fellows" (PDF). American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-21. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  24. ^ "2009 - 2010 ASME Fellows" (PDF). American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-14. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  25. ^ "NAE Members Directory - Dr. Pradeep K. Khosla". NAE. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  26. ^ Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas (2024-05-06). "Police Raid U.C. San Diego Encampment and Arrest 64 Protesters". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  27. ^ "Police crackdown on pro-Palestinian protest at UC San Diego leads to dozens of arrests, criticism". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  28. ^ Robbins, Gary. "UCSD chancellor sued for allegedly discriminating against female executive". San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  29. ^ "UCSD chancellor and former exec reach settlement in discrimination lawsuit". San Diego Union-Tribune. Staff Reports. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  30. ^ Robbins, Gary. "Former UC investigator alleges he was fired for challenging changes in critical review of UCSD chancellor". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  31. ^ Robbins, Gary. "Investigator exploring whether UC San Diego chancellor engaged in bullying". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  32. ^ Robbins, Gary. "UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla: blunt-spoken visionary or belittling bully?". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
Academic offices
Preceded by 8th Chancellor of the University of California San Diego
2012–present 		Incumbent