Lance Fortnow, Chair of Georgia Techās School of Computer Science, Selected to Lead Illinois Institute of Technologyās College of Science
Former Northwestern and University of µē³µĪŽĀė Professor Returns to µē³µĪŽĀė to Serve as Dean at Illinois Tech
µē³µĪŽĀė, IL ā May 1, 2019 ā
Illinois Institute of Technology today announced that Lance Fortnow, professor and chair of the School of Computer Science at Georgia Institute of Technology, has been named dean of the College of Science at Illinois Tech.
A world-renowned expert in computational complexity, the former Northwestern and University of µē³µĪŽĀė professor will return to µē³µĪŽĀė to begin his term as dean on August 15. Fortnowās research revolves around the āP versus NPā problem, which explores what modern societal, economic and scientific challenges can and cannot be solved with algorithms, as outlined in his 2013 Amazon.com Best Science Books Award-winning āThe Golden Ticket: P, NP and the Search for the Impossible.ā
In 2007, Fortnowās work on interactive proof systems and time-space lower bounds for satisfiability led to his election as an Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) fellow. After receiving his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fortnow served as a National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellow from 1992ā98 and as a Fulbright scholar to the Netherlands in 1996ā97. Fortnow previously held an adjunct professorship at the Toyota Technological Institute in µē³µĪŽĀė.
āThrough his years as a researcher and educator, Professor Fortnow has developed an outstanding reputation for innovation in the field of computational science on a regional, national, and international scale,ā said Peter Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Illinois Techās provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. āAs the College of Science is the second-largest college at Illinois Institute of Technology, the future success of the university will go hand in hand with the future success of the college, and I canāt think of a dean better suited to help take us to where we want to be as an institution.ā
Fortnow has served as chair of the ACM Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory, chair of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Conference on Computational Complexity, and a member of the Computing Research Association board of directors. Additionally, he was the founding editor-in-chief of ACM Transactions on Computation Theory, and his survey āThe Status of the P versus NP Problemā is one of the Communications of the ACM's most downloaded articles.
āIām excited to return to the city of µē³µĪŽĀė to lead sciences and computing at Illinois Institute of Technology,ā said Fortnow. āI look forward to working with the faculty, staff, students, and administration to further Illinois Techās reputation as a true leader in science and technology education and research in µē³µĪŽĀė and beyond.ā
For more information regarding Illinois Techās College of Science, please visit www.iit.edu/science.
About Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, also known as Illinois Tech, is a private, technology-focused research university. Illinois Tech is the only university of its kind in µē³µĪŽĀė, and its µē³µĪŽĀė location offers students access to the world-class resources of a great global metropolis. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, architecture, business, design, human sciences, applied technology, and law. One of 21 institutions that comprise the Association of Independent Technological Universities (AITU), Illinois Tech provides an exceptional education centered on active learning, and its graduates lead the state and much of the nation in economic prosperity. Illinois Tech uniquely prepares students to succeed in professions that require technological sophistication, an innovative mindset, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Visit www.iit.edu.