Founder
Ramesh Kolluru, Ph.D., Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Economic Development, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
337.482.6541
Dr. Kollurus drives the University's transition to a top-tier, modern research university — one that is committed to research for a reason — through research, scholarship, and innovation. His leadership efforts include stimulating activities related to sponsored research, doctoral programs, technology transfer, corporate and governmental relations, and economic development. Additionally, he oversees operations of the University Research Park, as well as various research centers and institutes at UL Lafayette.
He is a nationally recognized leader in the application of computing and informatics research to solve challenges in health care, disaster management, supply chain management, public-private partnerships, big data analytics, among others. During his research career, he founded three premier applied research centers at UL Lafayette, including the nation's only National Science Foundation focusing on "big data" ; he also generated more than $65 million in research grants and contracts. Under his leadership, the University translates applied research to stimulate innovation and economic development in the region.
Center for Business and Information Technologies, Founder/Director, 2003-2014
Dr. Kolluru established the Center for Business and Information Technologies (CBIT) at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2003 to support the University’s economic development agenda through research, development, and technology transfer. Under his leadership, the Center is recognized as a prime source for business and information technology research and innovative solutions for existing and start-up businesses and government agencies in the State of Louisiana. The Center was recognized by Governor Mike Foster with the Lantern Award for contributions to economic development in Louisiana in 2003. Dr. Kolluru is the recipient of the 2007 Governor’s Technology Leader of the Year award for his academic preparation as a computer scientist to analyzing and solving problems through the use of technology. He was instrumental in the University’s response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, working with the leadership of Louisiana Economic Development. In 2012, Dr. Kolluru launched an annual coding competition in Louisiana, the CajunCodeFest, which started a revolution in health care innovation in Louisiana resulting in new collaborations across the state. In 2014, the CajunCodeFest received the Innov8 award from the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce for igniting an innovation in the community.
National Incident Management Systems and Advanced Technologies Institute, Founder/Executive Director, 2007-2014
Established based on the lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the National Incident Management Systems and Advanced Technologies (NIMSAT) Institute at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is a national-scale partnership comprising of over 30 organizations from across 16 states in the U.S. The NIMSAT Institute seeks to develop public-private partnerships to enhance national resiliency to a full range of potential disasters by conducting research leading to cutting edge tools and applications that empower the homeland security and emergency management (HSEM) community through education, training, and operational support. At the request of the Louisiana Governor’s office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), the NIMSAT Institute assisted in the informal deployment of these partnerships during hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008 for the benefit of the State, culminating in the establishment of the Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center (LABEOC). Dr. Kolluru led the LABEOC initiative for the State of Louisiana, under the overarching leadership of GOHSEP and LED, with support from LSU’s Stephenson Disaster Management Institute (SDMI). The NIMSAT Institute was recognized as a top organization for innovation by the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce.
(National Science Foundation) Center for Visual and Decision Informatics, Site Director/Founder, 2012
He was heavily involved with establishing the “Center for Visual and Decision Informatics”, a prestigious National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) in partnership with Drexel University. Launched on February 6, 2012, CVDI is the only NSF center in the US with focus Big Data. In May 2015, the center became an international research center with the addition of Tampere University of Technology in Finland.