PhD 1988, Computer Science;
MS 1982 & BS 1981, Computer Science, Western Michigan University
Dr. Farshad Fotouhi is currently dean of the College of Engineering at Wayne State University (WSU) in Detroit. He joined the faculty of Computer Science at WSU in 1988, upon completion of his PhD in Computer Science at Michigan State. He served as chair of the WSU Department of Computer Science from January 2004 until being named dean in February 2011.
Before joining WSU, he was a faculty member of Lyman Briggs College, while earning his doctorate at MSU. He received both BS (1981) and MS (1982) degrees in computer science from Western Michigan University.
Among his accomplishments, Dean Fotouhi oversaw the transition of the Department of Computer Science from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to the College of Engineering. He also guided the successful ABET reaccreditation of the college’s undergraduate programs as well as ABET accreditation of its biomedical engineering program.
His current research interests include biomedical informatics, semantic web and multimedia systems. He has published more than 200 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings. His research has been supported by NSF, NIH, National Institute of Drug Abuse, Ford Motor Company and many other industries.
Dean Fotouhi has served as a program committee member of numerous conferences related to his research interests, including a member of the Editorial Board of IEEE Multimedia Magazine and the International Journal of Semantic Web and Information Systems. He is also a member of several boards of directors, including Michigan-Shenzhen Trade, Investment & Innovation Cooperation Center, the Engineering Society of Detroit, Downtown Boxing Gym Youth Program, WSU Mott Center and TechTown.
He met his wife, Kathy McDonald, while attending MSU, and they were married at the MSU Chapel in 1988. Kathy received her BS in biology from Lyman Briggs in 1986. They have three daughters: Stephanie, currently attending the University of Detroit Mercy dental school; Audrey, currently a medical student at WSU; and Emma, who will graduate from the University of Wisconsin School of Business later this month.
