Interim Dean Inés R. Triay has promoted Professors Mark Weiss and Christian Poellabauer to new administrative positions, bringing decades of experience in research, education and artificial intelligence innovation to the top levels of FIU’s College of Engineering and Computing (CEC).
Weiss, one of the nation’s top authors and educators in computer science, has been promoted to Vice Dean. Poellabauer, a renowned researcher of AI and wireless sensors, is now the college’s Interim Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies.
“It is with great pride and enthusiasm that we welcome Professors Mark Weiss and Christian Poellabauer to their CEC administrative roles,” Triay says. “Their leadership and vast experience are precisely what we need during this time when engineering and computer science disciplines are revolutionizing science and technology.”
Weiss has been an FIU professor for more than three decades. He spent nine years as associate director of the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences, then played an instrumental role in the creation of the School of Universal Computing, Construction Engineering Education (SUCCEED) as interim founding director. Today, he is a Distinguished University Professor and recipient of his field’s most prestigious education awards.
Seeing Panthers succeed has motivated Weiss over the years. Student outcomes will remain one of his key focuses as Vice Dean, he says.
“Our student body is truly dynamic. We are already one of the biggest universities in the country, and we are on a rapid upward trajectory in terms of enrollment. I am excited to work together with Dean Triay to create good models to sustain that growth,” Weiss says.
What are the qualities that make FIU students special? One trait that stands out to Weiss is their ability to build incredible groups. For example, INIT FIU routinely hosts the largest hackathon in Florida every year, and in 2023, FIU’s Women in Cybersecurity chapter was presented with the Student Chapter Leadership Award.
“When employers hire our alumni, they rave about the quality of people that are passing through our doors,” Weiss says. “I think that students are a really big reason for our success.”
One way that the college is adding to students’ experiences is through the offering of a new degree program this fall. The Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences is debuting its bachelor’s degree in data science and AI.
In general, CEC is placing a greater emphasis on AI and other areas of multidisciplinary collaboration. These focuses include cybersecurity, automation and robotics, resilient infrastructure and health.
Ready to help CEC expand research in these areas is Christian Poellabauer. The new Interim Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies is an experienced researcher of AI and its applications to healthcare and other industries. He plans to leverage his expertise to help CEC foster more interdisciplinary collaboration.
Prior to arriving at FIU, Poellabauer spent 17 years at the University of Notre Dame. Today, he leads FIU’s MOSAIC (MObile Sensing and AnalytICs) Lab, where his team researches data analysis challenges and develops cybersecurity techniques. His prior research has been supported by a diverse group of organizations, from the National Science Foundation to the National Football League.
“In today’s age of AI, it’s very common for research to involve multiple disciplines at once. To be successful, we need to be excellent communicators,” Poellabauer says.
“For example, in my research, I have seen one word have two meanings. ‘Speech processing’ means one thing to speech language pathologists, yet something completely different thing to computer scientists. When we have the patience and intentionality to create common ground and learn from each other, we can combine our strengths to produce incredible results.”
FIU is uniquely positioned to be a leader for this kind of interdisciplinary collaboration in South Florida, Poellabauer says. In just several months, the university is opening a 121,000-square-foot, six-story Innovation Complex, boasting makerspace labs, active learning classrooms and research laboratories.
“Our new complex will provide the space for teams with multiple different backgrounds to closely work together, explore ideas and build new research opportunities,” Poellabauer says.
The new complex and the appointment of Professors Weiss and Poellabauer are just two recent initiatives that should help the college continue its positive momentum. CEC and university at-large are experiencing historic levels of recognition this summer. In June, the Florida Board of Governors recognized FIU for achieving the highest score in the state’s Performance Funding metrics for the second year in a row. The board also designated FIU as a Preeminent State Research University, of which there are only four in Florida.
By David Drucker