Satish Kumar Tripathi is an

Indian-American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, who are also referred to as "Indians" or "Am ...

academic, a

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 ...

and

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some ...

. He is the first foreign-born president of the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

(UB), the flagship of the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

(SUNY) system.UB Office of the President: About Satish K. Tripathi
''University of Buffalo'', Buffalo, NY: University of Buffalo, 2013, Retrieved 10 December 2013.SUNY chancellor recommends Satish K. Tripathi as president of UB
Washington, DC: Targeted News Service, 17 March 2011, Della Contrada, J., Retrieved 7 June 2014. Previously, he served as provost of University at Buffalo from 2004 to 2011. From 1997–2004, Tripathi served as dean of the

Bourns College of Engineering The Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering, commonly known as 'Bourns Engineering' or 'BCOE', is a college of engineering at the University of California, Riverside. The college was established in 1989, and named in honor of Marlan and ...

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...

Early life and education

Tripathi was raised in the village o
Patna Mubarakpur
in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

India and graduated at the top of his class from Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He holds a doctorate in computer science from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, as well as three master’s degrees—one in computer science from the University of Toronto and two in statistics from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

and BHU.

Career

Coming to the United States in 1978, Tripathi joined the faculty of the Department of Computer Science at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, where his 19-year tenure included serving as chair from 1988–1995. While on sabbatical at the University of Maryland, he also held visiting professorships at the

University of Paris-Sud Paris-Sud University (), also known as the University of Paris — XI (or as the Orsay Faculty of Sciences, University of Paris before 1971), was a French research university distributed among several campuses in the southern suburbs of Paris, ...

in France and the

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

in Germany. From 1997–2004, Tripathi served as dean of the

at the University of California-Riverside, where he nearly quadrupled the number of students and tripled the number of faculty at that institution and led its rise from an unranked program to a position in the upper half of the ''U.S. News and World Report'' Best Engineering Graduate Schools rankings. Tripathi joined the

in 2004, serving as UB's provost and executive vice president for academic affairs until his appointment as president in 2011. As provost, Tripathi led the recruitment of many prominent faculty to the university and oversaw a significant increase in the number of faculty hired to develop and enhance strengths in key areas of research and scholarly activity. As a result, the university achieved substantial increases in research expenditures and federally awarded research grants, putting UB in league with the top national research universities in the United States. Under Tripathi’s leadership, the academic profile of UB's undergraduate and graduate students also has improved significantly. He led a number of efforts to enrich the educational experiences of UB undergraduate students by introducing programs designed to provide them with opportunities to engage in learning and research with UB's top faculty. He also oversaw the development of innovative "living-learning environments" constructed as part of "Building UB", the university's comprehensive physical plan. Tripathi led a strategic planning process for UB's international programs that has led to significant expansion of the university's international presence and the continued globalization of its three Western New York campuses. He signed a memorandum of understanding in 2005 with Indian Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

to establish the Indo-U.S. Inter-University Collaborative Initiative in Higher Education and Research, which has led to a significant partnership between UB and Amrita University. UB's educational programs in Singapore, in partnership with the

Singapore Institute of Management The Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) is a private tertiary education institution in Singapore. Founded on 28 November 1964 by the Economic Development Board (EDB), SIM is registered under the Committee for Private Education (CPE). SIM offe ...

, also have experienced significant growth under Tripathi’s leadership. Tripathi was one of the principal creators of the UB 2020 long-range academic plan, and has led the university to achieve significant growth in research and scholarly activity, enhanced student quality and diversity, and an expanded international presence. Within his first year as president, the university celebrated a number of major milestones, including the passage of the NYSUNY 2020 legislation that led to historic reforms for UB and the SUNY system of public higher education as a whole. Since Tripathi assumed the presidency in 2011, the university has also opened six major building projects on its three campuses—including the new $375 million building for the

Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, also known as Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is a public medical school in the city of Buffalo, New York, at the University at Buffalo. Founded in 1846, it is o ...

on the

Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) is a medical center of health care, life sciences research and medical education institutions, co-located on in Buffalo, New York. The BNMC was founded in 2001 by a consortium (including the University ...

that is positioned as the hub of a thriving life sciences community in Buffalo—and celebrated a $40 million bequest that is the largest gift in university history. The university also received designation of a New York State Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics, positioning the university at the forefront of the rapidly expanding field of advanced materials. A prolific scholar, Tripathi has made significant contributions to the field of computer science, publishing more than 200 scholarly papers, supervising more than 30 doctoral and postdoctoral students and serving on program committees of numerous international conferences. The former editor of several top-tier scientific journals, he is a founding editorial board member of IEEE Pervasive Computing.

Civic and professional involvement

A leader in the national higher education community, Tripathi is co-chair of the

Association of American Universities The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of predominantly American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 69 public and private ...

(AAU) Task Force on Expanding U.S.-India University Partnerships. Tripathi serves on the College Football Playoff Board of Managers and has served as chair of the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

Council of Presidents as well as on the boards of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division I and NCAA Board of Governors. The former chair of

Internet2 Internet2 is a not-for-profit United States computer network A computer network is a collection of communicating computers and other devices, such as printers and smart phones. In order to communicate, the computers and devices must ...

, Tripathi currently serves as the president/chancellor representative. In addition, he has served on the boards of the

, the

Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) is a research, policy, and advocacy organization of public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems, and higher education organizations. It has member c ...

, the

Council for Higher Education Accreditation The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is an American organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for academic quality through accreditation in order to ...

and as a member of the Reimagine NY Commission. In 2011, Tripathi was appointed the inaugural co-chair of the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council, a position he held until 2017. Further, Tripathi was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 2024 and is also a fellow of the

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

(IEEE) for advancing the state of the art in computer and network systems analysis and for excellence in technical and educational leadership, as well as a fellow to 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 ...

Awards

In 2006, Dr. Tripathi was awarded the honorary doctorate of sciences from the

Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad The Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (IIIT-Allahabad), is a public university located in Jhalwa, Prayagraj (previously known as Allahabad) district, in Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the twenty-five Indian Institutes of Infor ...

, and in 2016 he received an honorary doctorate of law from

Brock University Brock University is a public university, public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The ...

in Ontario, Canada, and he received an honorary doctorate in science from Maharaja Surajmal Brij University in 2024.https://www.buffalo.edu/president/biography.html He also has been honored with the 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Award from

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...

Personal life

Tripathi is a resident of

Amherst, New York Amherst () is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Erie County, New York, Erie County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. As of 2020, the town had a total population of 129,595. ...

. He and his wife, Kamlesh, have two adult sons, Manish and Aashish."Ask your president: Can you describe your personal journey from India to the UB presidency?," ''At Buffalo, Vol. 31, No. 2'', Buffalo, NY: University at Buffalo Alumni Association, Winter 2014.

References

External links

UB Office of the President: About Satish K. Tripathi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tripathi, Satish K. American computer scientists Banaras Hindu University alumni Leaders of the University at Buffalo Scientists from Buffalo, New York University of Toronto alumni University of Alberta alumni University at Buffalo faculty University of Maryland, College Park faculty University of California, Riverside faculty Living people American academics of Indian descent Year of birth missing (living people)