Arun Ross honored with 2020 Withrow Teaching Excellence Award

Arun Ross, is a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the Cillag Endowed Chair of Science & Engineering, who makes learning a fun and challenging experience for his students.

 

As one student said, "I enjoyed going to class every day even if it meant a 30-minute walk in the cold. Of all the professors at Michigan State, I believe he has made the biggest impact on me.”

 

Ross is one of the world's leading experts in biometrics, computer vision, pattern recognition, and machine learning. He has advocated for the responsible use of biometrics at events including the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Identity and Security and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee at U.N. Headquarters. He joined MSU in 2013.

 

His many awards include the West Virginia University's Benedum Distinguished Scholar Award for excellence in creative research, an NSF CAREER award, being designated a Kavli Fellow by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the inaugural International Association of Pattern Recognition (IAPR) Young Biometrics Investigator Award, and the prestigious IAPR J. K. Aggarwal Prize.

"It was clear that Dr. Ross was passionate about what he was teaching … and it rubbed off on us,” a student said. And another added: “Before I took his class, I was considering transferring out of computer science, but his class made me remember why I loved it in the first place.”