Hanumanthrao Kannan has been appointed assistant professor in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech. He is one of 28 new faculty members hired by the college for the 2018-19 academic year.

Kannan's research is focused on developing new mathematical foundations of systems engineering with particular emphasis on decision-making. His specific research interests include preference formulation and communication, systems design methodologies, system architecture, and data-driven decision support in the context of complex systems.

“Good systems engineering practices are often neglected, although it is the lack thereof that leads to several million dollars of losses in industry,” said Kannan. “By way of my research, I would like to bring systems engineering to the forefront, while constantly trying to improve existing practices by proposing foundational theories."

Kannan received his bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from Anna University in India, his master's degree in astronautical engineering from the University of Southern California, and his doctoral degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University. He was a 2018 recipient of the James E. Long Memorial Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the International Council on Systems Engineering INCOSE Foundation and a 2015 recipient of the Research Excellence Award from the president of Iowa State University for outstanding research in a graduate program.

Written by Linda Hazelwood

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