Biography and Contact
Dr. Thanassis Rikakis is dean and professor of the Iovine Young Academy (IYA) at the University of Southern California (USC). The IYA provides unique BS and MS degrees at the intersection of technology, creativity and innovation through a transdisciplinary Challenge Based Reflective Learning (CBRL) framework. Thanassis is also courtesy professor of Bioengineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and leads the Interactive Neurorehabilitation Lab. His research focuses on complex systems for cyber-human intelligence, interactive neurorehabilitation, adaptive learning and experiential media. Before joining the IYA Thanassis served as founding director of the Calhoun Honors Discovery Program , an initiative that provided adaptive transdisciplinary learning pathways across five colleges. From 2015 until 2017 Thanassis served as executive vice president and provost at Virginia Tech. He led the development of transdisciplinary discovery communities (Destination Areas) and a new resource model (Partnership for an Incentive Based Budget) and co-led plans for the expansion of the VTC Health Sciences campus in Roanoke and for cross sector VT initiatives in Northern VA. From 2012 to 2015 he served as vice provost for design arts and technology at Carnegie Mellon University where he founded the Integrative Design, Arts and Technology (IDEATE) network. He has also served as founding director of the School of Arts, Media and Engineering at Arizona State University and Associate Director for Research and Development of the Computer Music Center at Columbia University. He has led gift efforts from philanthropy and industry totaling more than $75,000,000. He has been PI or co-PI in research grants from NSF, NIH, NEA and industry totaling over $16,000,000. He has authored over 50 publications spanning computing, engineering, health, education, design and the arts. He has composed 30 original music compositions performed internationally. He remains an active teacher of undergraduate and graduate courses and research supervisor of graduate students.
Contact at: rikakis at usc dot edu or through Linkedin