Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad is a Computer Science and Engineering Professor and Director of the Center for Advanced Computing Systems at the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas, USA. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Syracuse University, New York, U.S.A., in 1992, and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan, in 1985. His early education was at Central Model School and Government College in Lahore.

Before joining UTA, he was an associate professor in the Computer Science Department at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

He has authored 290-plus publications, including books and peer-reviewed research papers on supercomputing systems, parallel optimization algorithms, digital video compression, smart power grids, robotics, AI-driven assistive technologies, and sustainable computing.

Dr. Ahmad has received over 40 domestic and international awards, and his career-wise research funding is about $15 million from Hong Kong and US government agencies and industry.

Google Scholar shows his research papers as highly cited, ranking him among the top ten researchers in several computer science and engineering sub-branches (Green Computing: Number 2 in the world; Parallel and Distributed Computing: Number 6 in the world; Smart Health: Number 3 in the world; Video Coding: Number 10 in the world). ScholarGps, another ranking of world researchers, rates him at number 3 in Green Computing.

He has closely mentored over 250 postdocs and graduate and undergraduate students. Dr. Ahmad has been awarded over 25 Ph.D. and M.S. degrees, and his former Ph.D. students include senior-level professorial position holders in universities around the world, leaders in industry and U.S. government agencies, and Pakistani army officials.

He has served as an editor of six professional journals, including serving as founding Editor-in-Chief of Sustainable Computing for 8 years, and received the Best Editor Award from IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology. Currently, he is Editor-in-Chief of Springer’s Discover Internet-of-Things.

He has held a leading role (such as chair) for 37 international conferences and delivered more than 160 talks, including several keynote speeches.

While being a professor, he has held additional positions: a senior visiting scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China; a visiting lecturer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas; a frequent senior visiting scientist at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, New York.

He is a Fellow of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)—the Fellow grade is the highest of the IEEE and is conferred for extraordinary achievements in electrical engineering and computer science.

Additionally, Dr. Ahmad is honored as a Distinguished Life Fellow of IDES (India’s Institute of Doctors, Engineers, & Scientists) and a Fellow of AIIA (Artificial Intelligence Industry Alliance).

In addition, he is a certified evaluator of ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) for computer science and engineering degree programs worldwide. He is also an ABET consultant to many universities, helping them with the curriculum and preparing them for ABET evaluations.

He served as an advisor to Kuwait University and evaluated their master’s program in Computer Engineering. In addition, he was invited by King Abdullah University in Saudi Arabia for advice on research. He is an honorary professor at a number of universities around the globe, including Amity University in Dubai and the University of Electronic Sciences and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

Dr. Ahmad is the author of a comprehensive biography of the Prophet of Islam entitled “The Perfect Human, Muhammad (PBUH).” The proceeds of the book go to a non-profit charity trust, which makes donations to mosques, orphans, widows, and people suffering from natural disasters and financial hardships.
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