Sudan named third holder of Fujitsu Professorship

February 15, 2005

The EECS Department is pleased to announce that Professor Madhu Sudan has been named as the next holder of the Fujitsu Chair. This chair is provided through a contribution from the Fujitsu Corporation. The first two chair holders were Bob Gallager followed by Rod Brooks.

Madhu received a B.Tech. in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology at New Delhi in 1987, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1992. He joined the department in 1997 and was promoted to Full Professor in 2003.

Madhu’s research interests lie in Algorithms, Complexity, Probabilistic Proof Verification, Combinatorial Optimization, Coding Theory and Algebraic Computation. Madhu is perhaps best known for his contributions to error-correcting codes, showing that a new algorithm could correct far more errors for low-rate codes than any of the classical algorithms. This work has revitalized interest in algebraic codes in the field, and has found applications in a wide range of arenas – from cryptography to long-distance signal processing. But Madhu is also known for major, seminal work in using probabilistic methods to verify proofs of mathematical statements, and in combinatorial optimization.

It is worth noting that Madhu has made dramatic contributions throughout his career – he won the ACM Best Dissertation Award when he graduated in 1993; in 2000 he won the IEEE Information Theory Paper Prize; he won the 2001 Godel Prize from the ACM for outstanding journal paper in theoretical computer science; and most recently he won the Nevanlinna Prize from the International Congress of Mathematicians in 2002.

In addition to an impressive array of research accomplishments, Madhu is also an excellent educator. He teaches broadly across the range of theoretical computer science courses, and is praised by his students as “very, very knowledgeable”, eloquent, thought-provoking, and able to distill complex ideas down to simple intuitions. He teaches both advanced graduate courses, and essential undergraduate core courses, and he is always willing to help out wherever the department needs him.

The department is delighted to see Madhu’s many accomplishments acknowledged through the Fujitsu Chair.