ECE Welcomes Michael Wu as Department Head

Michael Wu is the new department head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Wu holds a BS in scientific instruments from Zhejiang University, an MS in electrical and computer engineering from SUNY Buffalo, and a PhD in computer science, also from SUNY Buffalo. His current research focuses on security and privacy in intelligent computing and communication systems. A Fellow of IEEE, he received the NSF CAREER Award in 2004 and the IEEE Percom Mark Weiser Best Paper Award in 2018.

Wu enjoys working in leadership because he can touch so many different areas – much like the field of ECE itself, which is applicable to fields including quantum computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, medical technology, drones, and autonomous vehicles.

“I really see that ECE is going to play a critical role in transforming a lot of those technologies,” said Wu, who is also a runner looking forward to racking up miles in Tucson. “We are already a very strong department, but we want to place ourselves among the top programs in the nation and in the world.”

Wu joins two additional new department heads at the College of Engineering: Kray Luxbacher of mining and geological engineering, and Farzad Mashayek of aerospace and mechanical engineering.

“We are thrilled to have these exceptionally well-qualified department heads and delighted that we continue to attract such top talent to the college,” said David W. Hahn, Craig M. Berge Dean of the College of Engineering.