Shree K. Nayar (ENG 1991)

2009 Alumni Achievement (Merit) Award

Shree K. Nayar became a faculty member in Columbia University's Department of Computer Science after completing his Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon. He was recently named department chair, and the Society of Columbia Graduates has honored him with its Great Teacher Award. As an instructor, Nayar is noted for his emphasis on writing about and presenting research well. He has earned an array of patents and honors, including election to the National Academy of Engineering "for the development of computational cameras and physics-based models for computer vision and computer graphics." 

Nayar is the undisputed leader of the extremely difficult area of physics-based computer vision, and his work has spawned entire research fields and a host of industry applications.