sees artificial intelligence as a 鈥渢echnological tsunami鈥� that’s pouring into almost every part of our lives. For him, this is inspiring. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of a major societal shift is what he and other engineers dream about. As a new faculty member at Vanderbilt and the new chair of the , Bhansali is excited to prepare Vanderbilt engineering students to drive this rapidly evolving innovation.
鈥淓very CEO is asking the question, 鈥楬ow are we using applied AI?鈥� and they have middle management with domain expertise but no idea how to infuse AI into their specific industries,鈥� said Bhansali, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. 鈥淢y vision is for our students to innovate ways to use AI and lead businesses of all kinds with the newest AI capabilities as true innovation experts.鈥�
Bhansali stresses that artificial intelligence is a tool and that AI alone stalls without humans working together, which is why collaborative, forward-thinking universities like Vanderbilt are so vital.
ADAPTIVE THINKING
Bhansali and fellow faculty are reexamining the electrical engineering curriculum to integrate AI into each class, so students can advance their learning with this innovation in mind. They鈥檙e also launching AI-specific programs that allow students to tackle societal challenges of tomorrow.
While they’re using AI as a valuable tool, Bhansali believes students must adapt their thinking to master engineering fundamentals and ask the right questions to meet rapidly evolving engineering needs.
鈥淭he rate of disruption and the rate of transformation have become so fast, we all agree on one thing: None of us know what this time next year will look like from a technology standpoint,鈥� said Bhansali, who came to Vanderbilt after holding major leadership roles at Florida International University and as division director for the at the National Science Foundation.
PERSONAL聽 狐狸视频
Beyond his work leading the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Bhansali is building out his Vanderbilt lab and designing and integrating nanoscale sensors and microdevices into systems for application in health, energy and environmental monitoring.
鈥淚’m interested in using AI with sensor platforms for applications ranging from real-time diagnostics to process control. I plan to build collaborative projects bridging science, engineering, environment, medicine and data science to create translational technologies that contribute to human health and national security,鈥� he said.
WHY VANDERBILT
Bhansali was drawn to Vanderbilt because of the university鈥檚 top-notch research infrastructure and culture of collaboration.
鈥淲orking alongside an exceptional group of faculty who are committed to pursuing collaborative and interdisciplinary research was the big draw,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 saw firsthand examples of extensive and seamless collaborations among different schools and Vanderbilt University Medical Center鈥攁nd the close interactions between faculty and students. It is obvious that Vanderbilt has the ideal environment to push boundaries in research and education.鈥�
BEST JOB IN THE WORLD
Bhansali calls being a professor the 鈥渂est job in the world.鈥� He believes passionately in mentoring and so far has advised 35 postdocs, 34 Ph.D.鈥檚, 48 master鈥檚 students and more than 200 undergraduate and high school students.
鈥淭o see your students who graduated 20 years ago now run companies is very gratifying,” he said. “It’s not that we made that happen, but we were part of a journey of somebody who is changing the world, and that’s immensely gratifying.鈥�
And he鈥檚 ready to challenge and prepare the next generation to lead in the evolving AI-enabled space.
鈥淲hen changes are disruptive, leading the change is where the fun is,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou know change is happening; you can’t stop it. So you can either resist it and be threatened by it, or lead.鈥�