51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ

Rob A. Rutenbar, senior vice chancellor for research at the 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ, has been appointed to  in the School of Computing and Information, and Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Swanson School of Engineering.

Designation as a Distinguished Professor recognizes extraordinary, internationally recognized scholarly attainment in an individual discipline or field. Rutenbar was recommended for this high distinction by Interim Dean Bruce Childers, Dean James R. Martin II and Provost Ann E. Cudd, and was approved by Chancellor Patrick Gallagher in May 2021. 

Rutenbar’s research focuses on tools for integrated circuit design, especially analog circuits, and hardware architectures for artificial intelligence. He has launched two successful companies in these areas:  Neolinear Inc., the first commercial toolchain for analog chips (acquired by Cadence in 2004); and Voci Technologies, Inc., for ultra-fast enterprise voice analytics (acquired by Medallia in 2020).  He has published more than 200 research papers and books and mentored more than 50 graduate students.  A set of courses on chip design he devised for the global Coursera MOOC platform has attracted nearly 100,000 registered learners.

As senior vice chancellor for research at 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ, Rutenbar leads the 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ Research organization which supports the full breadth of the University’s enterprise, and provides strategic vision, leadership and partnership expertise to help 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ researchers and scholars. 

Since his arrival, he has launched several initiatives that exemplify his exceptional commitment to the University: The 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ Momentum Funds, to catalyze new directions in scholarship and support large-scale team science; LifeX Labs, to enhance 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ’s abilities to transfer life science innovations into commercial use; and the new Office of Industry and Economic Partnerships, which aligns 51¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ's research expertise with industry partners to advance scientific and technological opportunities.