Dr. Frost new Chairperson
A nationally known researcher in communication systems and networks and a longtime KU administrator and professor will become the new chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS).
Victor S. Frost, Dan F. Servey Distinguished Professor of EECS, will take over as chair on July 1.
“The leadership provided by Professor Prescott over the past six years has positioned EECS for continued success and growth especially in terms of the number of graduates prepared to make contributions to their field and society. I hope to continue the department’s over 125 year tradition of excellence”, said Dr. Frost.
In 2009, Dr. Frost was selected for a two-year appointment at the National Science Foundation where he served as director of the Networking Technology and Systems within the Directorate of Computer Information & Information Science & Engineering. As a Program Director Dr. Frost contributed to the creation of NSF’s Future Internet Architecture program.
Since his return to KU, Dr. Frost has served as EECS Associate Chair for Graduate Studies. Under Dr. Frost’s leadership, the graduate program has increased the number of applications and admissions each successive year. He has overseen three successful visitation days where prospective graduate students toured EECS-affiliated research facilities and met with faculty and current students to learn more about the department. The most recent visitation day was a great success, with 6 ouf of 15 students choosing KU for graduate school.
In addition to increasing student numbers, Dr. Frost has improved access to, and focus of, EECS graduate programs. He led the effort to launch the graduate distance learning program last fall, which provides working engineers with real-time access to EECS graduate courses. He worked with faculty to develop graduate focus areas that have assisted students in forming their plan of study and will potentially reduce the time to degree. Dr. Frost led an overhaul of the graduate and research pages on the EECS website to reflect these changes.
Dr. Frost has held senior administrative positions with KU’s Information and Telecommunication Technology Center (ITTC) and its predecessor lab since 1987. From 1997-2008, Dr. Frost served as director of ITTC, one of the largest research centers at KU with approximately 150 faculty, staff, and students. Under Dr. Frost’s leadership, ITTC faculty generated more than $55 million in research expenditures.
His background includes bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from KU, all in electrical engineering. He joined the faculty in 1982, advanced to full professor in 1992, and was named a distinguished professor in 1996. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the recipient of a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1984. In 2012 he was a H.O.P.E. Award Finalist and in 2014 received the KU Louise Byrd Graduate Educator Award.