NJIT’s Math Department Chair Becomes Computer Sciences Leader
Daljit Singh Ahluwalia, PhD, has been named acting dean of the College of Computing Sciences (CCS) at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). CCS, which opened in 2001, is the newest of NJIT’s six colleges.
“Dr. Ahluwalia’s success in this position is very important to NJIT, and this appointment is made with strong belief in his capabilities,” said NJIT Provost Priscilla Nelson. “He is one of NJIT's most respected administrators, researchers, and educators, and brings a notable track record to the task.”
Ahluwalia arrived at NJIT in 1986 with a vision to build a first-rate applied mathematics department. Since then, the department’s staff has nearly doubled from 24 to 47. Current active national grants from public and private sources grew from zero to 27. And, the number of awards, and grant expenditures top $2 million for this current fiscal year. Last year, NJIT President Robert A. Altenkirch’s strategic plan slated the department to be one of NJIT’s top three to obtain national prominence.
Ahluwalia also will continue directing a center at NJIT for applied mathematics and statistics, a role he has held since the beginning. The center and math department are models of multidisciplinary research at NJIT, Ahluwalia said.
Prior to joining NJIT, Ahluwalia was a member of the faculty of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. From 1993-1995, he was a program director at the National Science Foundation.
CCS is NJIT’s newest college, and its formation in 2001 reflects NJIT's desire to make computing a centerpiece of its educational activities in the 21st century. The CCS mission is to bring education in a broad range of computing disciplines to students on campus and at a distance, to carry out cutting-edge computing research and to work closely with industry. As the first college of its kind in New Jersey, the college builds on three decades of computing education and research at NJIT.
Degree programs include the BA/BS, MS and PhD in computer science; the BS in human computer interaction; and the BA/BS, MS and PhD in information systems. New programs at all educational levels are being developed in bioformatics. CCS has been able to attract prominent senior faculty to its ranks as well as junior faculty who have established strong research programs and received honors such as the prestigious NSF Career Award.