Missouri S&T computer science chair named IEEE Fellow

Dr. Sajal K. Das, professor and chair of computer science and the Daniel C. St. Clair Endowed Chair in computer science at Missouri University of Science and Technology, has been named an IEEE Fellow in recognition of his contributions to parallel and distributed computing. The honor is the highest grade of membership in the organization.

The IEEE (formerly known as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) confers the grade of fellow upon those with an outstanding record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year cannot exceed one-tenth of 1 percent of the total voting membership.

Since joining the Missouri S&T faculty in 2013, Das has worked to increase diversity in the computer science field by attracting more women and underrepresented minorities to the department. His research focuses on wireless sensor networks, cyber-physical systems, mobile and pervasive computing, cloud computing, and graph theory. A deep understanding of rich theoretical concepts helps Das develop innovative applications to real-life problems.

His contributions include the design and analysis of efficient architectures, algorithms, protocols, and performance modeling tools in these areas. His work has received 17,335 citations.

Das has authored 238 journal articles and 344 refereed conference papers. He holds five U.S. patents; has authored 50 book chapters; edited more than 20 conference proceedings; and published three books. He has participated in more than 50 funded research projects totaling more than $10 million in funding.

Das earned a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Central Florida in 1988, a master’s of science degree in computer science from Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, and bachelor of science and bachelor of technology degrees in Physics and computer science in 1980 and 1983, respectively from Calcutta University, India. He has graduated 38 Ph.D. and 30 master’s thesis students.

Das has received numerous awards for his work, including the IEEE Computer Society’s Technical Achievement Award for pioneering contributions to sensor networks and mobile computing; IEEE Region-5 Outstanding Engineering Educator Award; and 10 Best Paper Awards at conferences such as the 2014 International Conference on Smart Computing, the 2012 IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communications and the 2008 European Conference on Wireless Sensor Networks..

Das has served as editor-in-chief of Elsevier’s Pervasive and Mobile Computing journal since 2004, and serves as an associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, ACM Transactions on Sensor Networks, Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing, ACM/Springer Journal on Wireless Networks, and Journal of Peer-to-Peer Networks and Applications. He has guest edited for several IEEE magazines.

A founder of IEEE WoWMoM and IEEE PerCom conferences, Das has chaired or served on the steering committee for numerous international conferences, and delivered more than 75 keynote addresses, in addition to numerous other invited talks, seminars and colloquia. He has also served as vice chair of IEEE Technical Committees on Parallel Processing and computer Communications.

The IEEE is the world’s leading professional association for advancing technology for humanity. Through its 400,000 members in 160 countries, the IEEE is a leading authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics.

Dedicated to the advancement of technology, the IEEE publishes 30 percent of the world’s literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields, and has developed more than 900 active industry standards. The association also sponsors or co-sponsors nearly 400 international technical conferences each year. If you would like to learn more about IEEE or the IEEE Fellow Program, please visit www.ieee.org.