Farnam Jahanian was appointed interim president of Carnegie Mellon University by its Board of Trustees, effective July 1, 2017.
As provost and chief academic officer beginning in 2015, Jahanian had broad responsibility for leading CMU’s schools, colleges, institutes, and campuses and was instrumental in long-range institutional and academic planning, including efforts to enhance the CMU experience both within and outside the classroom. Before being named provost in May 2015, he previously served as the university’s vice president for research, nurturing excellence in research, scholarship and creative activities.
Prior to coming to CMU, Jahanian led the National Science Foundation Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) from 2011 to 2014. He guided CISE, with a budget of almost $900 million, in its mission to advance scientific discovery and engineering innovation through its support of fundamental research. Previously, Jahanian was the Edward S. Davidson Collegiate Professor at the University of Michigan, where he served as chair for Computer Science and Engineering from 2007 to 2011 and as director of the Software Systems Laboratory from 1997 to 2000.
Jahanian has been an active advocate for how basic research can be uniquely central to an innovation ecosystem that drives global competitiveness and addresses national priorities. His research on Internet infrastructure security formed the basis for the Internet security company Arbor Networks, which he co-founded in 2001 and where he served as chairman until its acquisition in 2010. His work on Internet routing stability and convergence has been highly influential within the network research and Internet operational communities.
The recipient of numerous awards for his innovative research, commitment to education and technology commercialization activities, Jahanian was most recently presented with the Computing Research Association’s 2015 Distinguished Service Award.
Farnam holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
