New UCSD chancellor named to replace Fox University of California president Mark G. Yudof announced May 3 that he has selected Pradeep K. Khosla, dean of Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering, also known as the Carnegie Institute of Technology, to serve as the eighth chancellor of the University of California, San Diego. Citing Khosla’s accomplishments as a leader, educator and researcher, Yudof said he emerged as the top candidate after an international search. Details of the appointment will be voted on at the May 16 meeting of the UC Board of Regents. Khosla will succeed Marye Anne Fox on Aug. 1. Fox, who announced her resignation last year, will continue serving as chancellor until then. “Pradeep Khosla will bring to UC San Diego a distinctive set of attributes that will enable the university to build on the excellence that has made it one of the top institutions of higher learning in the world,” Yudof said. “He is a time-tested, oft-honored researcher, an innovative educator dedicated to improving the quality of life for students, faculty and staff, and an entrepreneurial leader with a global vision and proven fundraising abilities.” During nearly eight years as dean, Khosla has initiated undergraduate curriculum reform, successful diversity efforts, multidisciplinary and multi-college research centers, multidisciplinary graduate offerings, and international programs in Japan, Korea, Portugal, China and Rwanda. Under his leadership, the College of Engineering has significantly increased the number of women and students of color in its graduate programs. Khosla has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations in Pittsburgh, including The Children’s Institute, IIT Foundation, Mellon-Pitt Corp. and the Pittsburgh Technology Council. He has served on the advisory boards of several universities. “UC San Diego’s astounding growth and success are due in large part to its history of partnership with and support from the San Diego community,” Yudof said. “Pradeep understands the importance of these connections and will foster and expand them.” Khosla grew up in India and earned his MS and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon in 1984 and 1986 after graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1980 and working for two years in India as an engineer. During his years at Carnegie Mellon, in addition to teaching, writing and undertaking research, he served as head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, director of the Information Networking Institute and founding director of the Carnegie Mellon CyLab and the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems. “In slightly more than 50 years, UC San Diego, under the leadership of Marye Anne Fox and her predecessors, has become one of the world’s top universities,” Khosla said in a recent statement. “I feel fortunate, humbled and energized to have the opportunity to contribute to that excellence while embracing the challenges of integrating world-class research with an undergraduate educational experience that will remain accessible to all, regardless of family income.” Health System receives new chief UC San Diego Health System is also welcoming a new chief. Paul S. Viviano has been appointed CEO of the system and associate vice chancellor for health sciences. Viviano is currently chairman of the board and CEO of Alliance Healthcare Services — the nation’s largest provider of advanced outpatient diagnostic imaging services and a national leader in delivery of radiation oncology services — where he has served since 2003. During his tenure, he defined the strategic path, expanded the company’s technology platform and optimized the investment value of the organization. His prior positions include president and CEO of USC University Hospital and USC/Norris Cancer Hospital, a private research and teaching hospital staffed by faculty from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. USC/Norris is an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center with more than 200 basic scientists, physicians and other Keck School of Medicine faculty members.  NAS elects 3 UCSD profs The National Academy of Sciences announced the election of three UC San Diego professors to membership in the prestigious academy, one of the highest honors bestowed on U.S. scientists and engineers. Roberto Malinow, Ruth Williams and William Young were among the 84 new members and 21 foreign associates elected to the academy on May 1 “in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.” They join 92 current members of the UCSD faculty who previously had been named to membership in the academy, which was established by Congress in 1863 to serve as an official adviser to the federal government on matters of science and technology. Malinow, a professor of neurosciences at the UCSD School of Medicine and a professor of biology in the Division of Biological Sciences, came to the campus in March 2008. He currently holds the Shiley Chair in Alzheimer’s disease research in Honor of Dr. Leon Thal. His research focuses on synaptic transmission and plasticity, learning and memory. Williams, a professor of mathematics, joined the UCSD faculty in 1983 and currently holds the Charles Lee Powell Chair in mathematics. Her research is focused on probability, stochastic processes and their applications. She is well known for her work on theory and applications associated with stochastic networks, which arise in semiconductor manufacturing, tele-communications, computer systems, Internet congestion control and systems biology. Young, a professor of physical oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, came to Scripps in 1982 as a postdoctoral researcher, and returned in 1988 after working as an assistant professor at MIT. The La Jolla resident is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the American Meteorological Society. He received, among other awards, the James B. Macelwane Award, which recognizes significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by an outstanding young scientist. Recently, he served as the oceans and atmosphere section head at Scripps from 2007 to 2011. Major research universities use the number of academy members on their faculty as a benchmark by which to compare the strength of their scientific research and education programs among universities across the nation in different disciplines.