Pradeep Kumar Khosla (born March 13, 1957) is an Indian-American

computer scientist A computer scientist is a scientist who specializes in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation. Although computer scientists can also focus their work and research on ...

, currently serving as the eighth

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

, since August 2012. He is also a former electrical engineering professor and dean at the Carnegie Mellon College of Engineering.

Career

A native of

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, India, Khosla received a

Bachelor of Technology A Bachelor of Technology (BTech) is an undergraduate degree that is awarded for a higher education program in engineering. Countries Australia In Australia, the Bachelor of Technology degree is offered by RMIT University, Edith Cowan Univ ...

degree with honors from IIT Kharagpur in 1980. He received his MS and PhD degree from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

and became an assistant professor in 1986 and a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

in 2008 at CMU where held several administrative and leadership positions. In 2004, he was appointed Dean at CMU and again in 2009. He serves and has served on the advisory boards of several universities, committees, corporations and government organizations.These include

DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adva ...

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

, National Research Council, NASA etc.Professor Pradeep K. Khosla, CIT Dean Biography page
In 2012, Khosla was appointed the eighth chancellor of the

. His term began August 1, 2012, following the resignation of the previous chancellor,

Marye Anne Fox Marye Anne Payne Fox (9 December 1947 – 9 May 2021) was an American physical organic chemist and university administrator. She was the first female chief executive of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. In April 2004, Fo ...

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

Research

Khosla’s research has resulted in three books and more than 350 journal articles and conference and book contributions. 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.

Achievements

Khosla is the recipient of several awards including the ASEE George Westinghouse Award (1999), the Silicon-India Leadership award for Excellence in Academics and Technology (2000), the W. Wallace McDowell Award from

IEEE Computer Society IEEE Computer Society (commonly known as the Computer Society or CS) is a technical society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) dedicated to computing, namely the major areas of hardware, software, standards and people ...

(2001), the Cyber Education Champion Award from the

Business Software Alliance The Software Alliance, also known as BSA, is a trade group of business software companies established in 1998. Its principal activity is trying to stop copyright infringement of software produced by its members. It is a member of the International ...

(2007), Lifetime Achievement Award of the ''Computers and Information in Engineering Division'' of the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

(ASME) (2009), and the Pan IIT Academic Excellence Award (2009). He has also been elected as a Fellow of

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE ...

(1995), the

Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) is an international Learned society, scientific society devoted to promote research in, and responsible use of, artificial intelligence. AAAI also aims to increase public under ...

(AAAI) (2003), the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

(AAAS) (2004), the

(ASME) (2010), and member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

(NAE) (2006).

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. All arrested individuals were later released on the same day. Following this operation,

UC San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Sc ...

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. 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 UC San Diego policy, citing potential consequences such as interim suspension, contract termination (in the case of UC San Diego 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 UC San Diego 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 UC San Diego'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 The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...

(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, Groundwork 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 UC San Diego. A settlement was reached in 2020. 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 ..ubmitted findings regarding Khosla’s bullying, alcohol use, discrimination, and other inappropriate and illegal behavior." The investigation involved nine current and former UC San Diego employees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khosla, Pradeep Carnegie Mellon University faculty University of California, San Diego administrators American computer scientists Indian computer scientists Living people IIT Kharagpur alumni Carnegie Mellon University alumni Fellows of the IEEE Fellows of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Chancellors of the University of California, San Diego American academics of Indian descent People from Mumbai 1957 births American people of Punjabi descent