Vivek Wadhwa, the former Triangle tech entrepreneur turned academic and author, is joining the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University in San Francisco.
But, he won’t be leaving his post at Duke University quite yet. He’s also not giving up on his many other activities from speaking about issues he holds dear on a global basis to continuing to write books about issues affecting technology.
“This is a full time position, but I am going to be doing many things!” Wadhwa tells The Skinny.
“CMU is a great institution – just like Duke. But the big advantage for me is that they have a local campus – in Mountain View.”
Wadhwa’s appointment was announced Thursday.
He is a frequent contributor as a columnist to WRAL TechWire and writes for several different news organizations, such as The Washington Post.
Among his academic appointments was Duke where he and students conducted a great deal of research into entrepreneurship and immigration.
Wadhwa has been an outspoken advocate of diversity in the technology and venture capital industries and also supports immigration reform.
Exploring new tech
“I will be Distinguished Fellow and a professor—teaching classes, researching technologies, and helping the Pittsburg faculty to connect with Silicon Valley,” Wadhwa wrote in an email.
“CMU is doing some of the most advanced research in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, autonomous cars, and almost every field of engineering and bioengineering.”
Wadhwa says he’s thrilled with the opportunity.
“This will provide me direct access to the amazing faculty and enable me to help them make a much greater impact on the world,” he explains.
“I am also going to be turning the exponential innovation workshop that [his son] Tarun and I have developed into a regular course and teaching it to students at all of CMU’s global campuses (via teleconference and holodecks—when these are ready).”
Wadhwa is not ending his association with Duke immediately.
“I will still be with Duke until the end of this year, when my 12-year term ends,” he says.
“I owe them the most—deans Kristina Johnson and Tom Katsouleas, and department heads Jeff Glass, Brad Fox, and Barry Myers, and the faculty, especially Gary Gereffi. They helped me transition from a tech entrepreneur to an academic (well at least on the surface!).”
Why leave Duke?
Changes at Duke helped spark Wadhwa’s new move.
“My Duke appointment ends this year and I don’t know the new dean,” he says, “and that iswhy I decided to pursue something locally.”
In announcing the hire, CMU acknowledged Wadhwa’s impact as an advocate for technology and education.
“Vivek is a thought leader about technology innovation and the Silicon Valley ecosystem,” said Jonathan Cagan, Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives for the College of Engineering, in making the announcement. “We are excited to welcome Vivek to our campus and support his exploration of the impact of technology on society.”
