Computer Science taps new deparment head

As part of the effort to strengthen the information sciences at Penn, the Engineering School appointed Fernando Pereira as the new chair of the Computer and Information Science Department. Pereira is a well-respected information technology expert who comes to Penn from the private sector, having most recently worked as a research scientist at WhizBang Labs, an online marketing company and database provider. He is an expert in computational linguistics and artificial intelligence, having spent 11 years as a researcher at Bell Laboratories and AT&T; Labs. Pereira was officially introduced Friday afternoon at a ceremony in Houston Hall. University President Judith Rodin, Engineering Dean Eduardo Glandt and members of the Engineering Board of Overseers were in attendance. This appointment is part of Penn's stated commitment to enhancing Computer Science. Other projects include hiring more faculty and building the $15 million Levine Hall for the department. Pereira, who will join the faculty next summer, will replace the current chairman, Mitchell Marcus, who has not commented on his future plans. "Dr. Pereira is absolutely the deepest scholar who is extremely creative," Glandt said. "He's a deep thinker who has produced what are considered seminal papers in four different fields." In addition to his research ability, Pereira was also praised for his teaching ability. "Anyone can see that he is such a charismatic man who was born to teach," Glandt said. "It's written in his DNA." "I don't think that anyone could have been a better fit for Penn than Fernando, with his research ability and his extreme interest in undergraduate education," said Marcus, who has known Pereira for over 20 years. Though Pereira has taught courses, this is the first time that he will work full-time in academia. "The interdisciplinary flavor of this great university was what made me believe I could feel at home here," Pereira said. Pereira's hiring comes at a time when information science is at the forefront of innovation in all fields, including business, medicine and linguistics, among others. "All of Penn will benefit from this appointment and the expansion of this department," Rodin said. Pereira said he believes computer and information sciences have the potential to "solve the greatest challenges in human knowledge." Pereira's priorities as chair will include keeping undergraduate education informed of technological changes, maintaining a strong research program and furthering links with other departments in the sciences and humanities. Pereira, who received his doctoral degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1982, also spent 11 years as a researcher with AT&T;, including six years as head of the telecommunications company's machine learning and information retrieval research department. In addition to his duties as chair, Pereira will also assume duties as the Rachleff Professor, an endowed chair named for Andrew Rachleff, a 1980 Wharton graduate and member of the Board of Overseers.

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