CMU Appoints Five University Professors

Five Carnegie Mellon University faculty members have been elevated to the rank of University Professor(opens in new window), the highest distinction a faculty member can receive at Carnegie Mellon.

University Professors are distinguished by international recognition and for their contributions to education, artistic creativity and/or research. They are individuals who have made exceptional achievements beyond their department and college and embody the highest standards of the university.

This year, the newly appointed University Professors are Guy Blelloch, Gary Fedder, Robert Kass, Anthony Rollett and Elias Towe.

“I am delighted to congratulate this esteemed group of individuals on being selected by their peers as University Professors,” said Provost and Chief Academic Officer James H. Garrett Jr(opens in new window). “These five individuals have made impactful contributions to education and research, as well as to the community as a whole. It is a pleasure to recognize them with this distinction.”

Guy Blelloch

Guy Blelloch(opens in new window) is the U.A. and Helen Whitaker Professor of Computer Science in the Computer Science Department(opens in new window) in the School of Computer Science (SCS)(opens in new window). 

Blelloch’s main research focuses on the interaction between algorithms and languages, mostly in the context of parallel computing, through both theoretical and experimental work. His research centers around questions of how to model costs for high-level programming constructs, how to design systems so these costs have meaning, and how to make use of these features in effective algorithm design.

Among his awards and recognitions, Blelloch has received the Symposium on Parallelism in Algorithms and Architectures (SPAA) Parallel Computing Award, the Allen Newell Award for Research Excellence, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Charles Babbage Award. He is a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery and chaired the building committee for the Gates Center for Computer Science and Hillman Center for Future-Generation Technologies. From 2016 to 2020, he was associate dean of Undergraduate Programs for the School of Computer Science. Blelloch received his bachelor’s degrees in physics and engineering from Swarthmore College and his Ph.D. in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Gary Fedder

Gary Fedder(opens in new window) is the Howard M. Wilkoff Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering(opens in new window) and faculty director of the Manufacturing Futures Institute, both in the College of Engineering(opens in new window).

Fedder’s research interests include microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) modeling, simulation and synthesis, integration of MEMS and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors (CMOS), microsensor design, microactuator control systems and probe-based nanofabrication technologies. Most recently, his research efforts have been in technologies for skin-wearable interactive electronics and in digital twin technologies for manufacturing.

Fedder has served in administrative roles at CMU as vice provost for research, director of the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems, associate dean for research in the College of Engineering, and as faculty liaison of the building committee for the Sherman and Joyce Bowie Scott Hall. From 2011 to 2012, he was a technical co-lead on the Obama administration’s Advanced Manufacturing Partnership. Fedder was the founding president of the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute in 2017 and served as interim CEO in 2020.

Fedder is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. His awards include the AIME Electronic Materials Society Ross Tucker Award, the Carnegie Institute of Technology George Tallman Ladd Research Award, and the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. He received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), his master’s in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from University of California, Berkeley.

Robert Kass

Robert Kass(opens in new window) is the Maurice Falk Professor of Statistics and Computational Neuroscience in the Department of Statistics and Data Science(opens in new window) in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences(opens in new window).

Following his early work on Bayesian inference, and on differential geometry in statistics, Kass’s research has concentrated mainly on analysis of data representing the primary mode of communication among neurons, known as spike trains, which are described well by mathematical models called point processes. He and his collaborators have developed, investigated and illustrated the utility of tractable data-analytic statistical models within the point process framework. Recently, his work has focused on identifying interactions across two or more parts of the brain during behavioral tasks.

Kass served as Chair of the Statistics Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), founding editor-in-chief of the journal “Bayesian Analysis,” and executive editor of the international review journal “Statistical Science.” He received the Outstanding Statistical Application Award from the American Statistical Association (ASA) and what is now called the Distinguished Achievement Award and Lectureship from the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies. He is an elected fellow of the ASA, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, the AAAS, and an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences. He received a bachelor’s in mathematics from Antioch College and a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Chicago.

Anthony Rollett

Anthony Rollett(opens in new window) is the U.S. Steel Professor of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science in Materials Science and Engineering(opens in new window) and faculty co-director of the Next Manufacturing Center(opens in new window), both in the College of Engineering(opens in new window). He is the principal investigator and co-director of the Institute for Model-Based Qualification and Certification of Additive Manufacturing (IMQCAM)(opens in new window), supported by NASA.

Rollett’s research focuses on microstructural evolution and microstructure-property relationships in 3D, using both experiments and simulations. Interests include 3D printing of metals, materials for energy conversion systems, strength of materials, constitutive relations, microstructure, texture, anisotropy, grain growth, recrystallization, formability and stereology. Relevant techniques include high-performance spectral methods in micro-mechanics, dynamic x-ray radiography and high-energy diffraction microscopy.

Rollett is a fellow of the ASM International, the Institute of Physics (U.K.), and the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS). Among his awards and recognitions, he has received TMS’s Cyril Stanley Smith Award, the Cyril Stanley Smith Award from the International Conference on Recrystallization and Grain Growth, and the International Freeform and Additive Manufacturing Excellence (FAME) Award(opens in new window) at the 2023 International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium. He was an International Francqui Professor for 2020-2021, awarded by the Francqui Foundation (Belgium) and will receive the ASM Gold Medal in 2024. He was selected as a member of honor by the French Metallurgical Society and is a member of the Advisory Committee for Nuclear Security (ACNS) under the Department of Energy. He also served on the Basic Energy Science Advisory Committee (BESAC) for several years. 

Rollett received his master’s in metallurgy and materials science from Cambridge University and his Ph.D. in materials engineering from Drexel University.

Elias Towe

Elias Towe(opens in new window) is the Albert and Ethel Grobstein Professor in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering in the College of Engineering(opens in new window). He is director and principal investigator of the Quantum Computing and Information Technologies (QCiT) Center(opens in new window), a National Science Foundation industry-university cooperative research center. 

Towe’s primary research interests are in photonics and quantum photonics, and the related application areas of computing, communications and sensing. His early work focused on optical interconnects for large bandwidth computing and communication systems. He led the successful very large-scale integration (VLSI) photonic program while at DARPA. In later years, his group pioneered the use of quantum-dots in infrared focal plane imaging for night vision systems, and in high-efficiency quantum-dot lasers for communication. The work on quantum dots subsequently contributed to advances in single-photon detection and quantum bits for computing and sensing. 

Towe is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Physical Society, the Optical Society of America (Optica), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE)(opens in new window). His professional awards include the Outstanding Technical Achievement Award from the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, the Commonwealth of Virginia Scholar Award, the Honeywell Technology Center Award for Advancements in Photonics, and the National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award. He has served, and currently serves, on advisory boards for the Department of Defense, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank.

Towe was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received his S.B., S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science and was a Vinton Hayes fellow.