CORVALLIS, Ore. - V. John Mathews, an expert in biomedical signal and information processing with a track record for growing research funding and student enrollment, has been selected as the new head of the Oregon State University School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS).

Mathews comes to Oregon State after 30 years with the University of Utah, where he has been a professor since 1995 and served as chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering for four years. Under his leadership, the department's research funding tripled, the state-funded departmental budget grew more than 40 percent, three advanced teaching laboratories were created with industry funding, the number of graduate students nearly doubled and the undergraduate student enrollment increased by 50 percent.

"We're excited to have Professor Mathews join Oregon State's School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science," said Scott Ashford, dean of OSU's College of Engineering. "His leadership will build on the school's national reputation as a center of teaching and research excellence and innovation.

"We also will grow the school's unique approach to collaboration with industry and our college's growing emphasis on precision health and bioengineering,"

Mathews said he is committed to help create a strategic vision and sustain an environment within the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science that attracts and retains the highest-quality faculty, students and staff.

"Great faculty members bring about great teaching, research and relationships with industry - all of which raises a school's reputation, draws top students and produces successful graduates, who not only contribute to industry and society, but who also ultimately give back to the school in powerful and positive ways," Mathews said.

Mathews' research is in nonlinear and adaptive signal processing and the application of signal processing techniques in audio and communication systems, biomedical engineering and structural health management.

His research has led to development of tools for understanding the evolution of the placental circulation system and relationships between maternal and fetal circulation systems. These tools include a system for early detection of preeclampsia, a disease that affects between six and eight percent of all pregnant women and is one of the major causes of maternal and fetal death.

Research by Mathews' group at the University of Utah is also focused on the functional electrical stimulation of nerve fibers to evoke motor activity in patients with diseases of the central nervous system and neural prosthetic controllers for patients with limb loss.

Mathews has published more than 150 technical papers and is the inventor on seven patents.

He was elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2002 for contributions to the theory and application of nonlinear and adaptive filtering, and has held numerous leadership positions with the IEEE Signal Processing Society, including vice president of finance and vice president of conferences, dating back to 2003.

Mathews holds master's and doctoral degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Iowa, and a bachelor's of engineering in electronics and communication engineering from the University of Madras, India.

Source: 

Steve Clark, 541-737-4875 or [email protected]

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