5 Questions with Thenkurussi (Kesh) Kesavadas

ALBANY, N.Y. (Jan. 27, 2022) – Thenkurussi (Kesh) Kesavadas has officially joined the University at Albany community this week as the new vice president for research and economic development (VPRED). 

Kesavadas received his B.Tech degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Calicut, India, in 1985, his M.Tech degree in aircraft production engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, in 1987, and his PhD in industrial engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1995. 

Prior to UAlbany, he served as the founding director of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Health Care Engineering Systems Center (HCESC), the largest endowed center in the University of Illinois system. He also previously served as a faculty member at the University at Buffalo.  

Kesavadas will be tasked with advancing the University’s research productivity, quality and reputation as a Carnegie R1 research institution, along with expanding its extramural research funding portfolio and spurring economic development and entrepreneurship. 

What drew you to UAlbany? 

I was attracted to the University at Albany for several reasons. First, its signature strengths spanning climate science and weather, homeland security and emergency management, health disparities and health equity, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and engineering and computer science, uniquely position UAlbany to address society’s most significant global challenges. Moreover, UAlbany’s proximity to state government and a number of leading industry companies provide the campus with both a competitive advantage and a strategic opportunity to forge public and private partnerships to drive economic growth and job creation.  

What are your top goals and objectives as the new VPRED?  

One of my top priorities will be to bring faculty and researchers from different disciplines together on securing extramural funding to tackle the biggest challenges of our day, such as climate change, cybersecurity, health disparities and access to care, energy and so on. In doing so, we will capitalize on the significant infusion of federal dollars for research and development by leveraging the University’s comprehensive research strengths to attract new large scale/center scale funding. Creating and nurturing startup culture is my other big focus. I plan to work with the Albany area investment and industrial community to support an entrepreneurship ecosystem on our campus.   

If you were not working at a university, what would you be doing? 

I would be following my other passion – running a startup company. I have always enjoyed translating research into products that benefit society. In the past, I have had two successful ventures in educational and medical fields that I co-founded and helped grow with under the leadership of my former students. Currently, I am involved in an AR/VR venture called AirV Labs that is exploring the intersection of AI and VR. 

What part of this job are you most excited about? 

Addressing society’s grandest challenges has always inspired me and provided the greatest excitement as a scientist and researcher throughout my career. Now, as UAlbany’s new VPRED, I am very excited about the countless opportunities that the University has on the research to economic development continuum. For example, ETEC, a $180 million, 246,000 square foot state-of-the-art building, will house researchers, educators and entrepreneurs under the same roof as some of UAlbany’s fastest-growing programs in weather, climate, emergency preparedness, sustainability engineering and more. A potential reunion with the College of Nanoscience and Engineering is also a very exciting development that I think will transform the region. 

What’s one thing that the campus community might be surprised to know about you?  

I have a 100-pound golden retriever who is super friendly and keeps me active. I am also an amateur guitarist and love to compose and edit music in my spare time. My last composition was a fusion piece that I recorded for my mother’s 80th birthday.