Vasant Honavar
Also known as Vasant G. Honavar, Vasant Gajanan Honavar
Vasant Honavar works on artificial intelligence, including machine learning, causal inference, and biomedical data. He completed a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1990, after a B.E. in electronics engineering from Bangalore University in 1982 and an M.S. in electrical and computer engineering from Drexel University in 1984. From 1990 to 2013 he served on the computer science faculty at Iowa State University, where he founded the Artificial Intelligence Research Laboratory in 1990, and from 2010 to 2013 he led the National Science Foundation Big Data program. He joined Pennsylvania State University in September 2013 as the Edward Frymoyer Chair, was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2018, and in 2021 was named the Huck Chair in Biomedical Data Sciences and Artificial Intelligence. Since June 2026 he is the university's inaugural vice provost for artificial intelligence.
- Works
- 498
- Citations
- 14,383
- h-index
- 53
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 17 October 2026.
Timeline
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1982–1990
Degrees in engineering and AI
In 1982 he receives a B.E. in electronics engineering from Bangalore University, and in 1984 an M.S. in electrical and computer engineering from Drexel University. He completes a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1990, specializing in artificial intelligence.
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1990–2013
An AI laboratory at Iowa State
From 1990 to 2013 he serves on the computer science faculty at Iowa State University. He founds the Artificial Intelligence Research Laboratory there in 1990 and chairs the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology graduate program from 2003 to 2005. Teaching and research interests include artificial intelligence, machine learning, and bioinformatics.
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2010–2013
Leading an NSF Big Data program
From 2010 to 2013 he serves as a program director in the Information and Intelligent Systems Division at the National Science Foundation and leads the Big Data program. In 2013 he receives the NSF Director's Award for Superior Accomplishment. Machine learning and causal inference are among his research topics.
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September 2013
The Frymoyer chair at Penn State
In September 2013 he joins Pennsylvania State University as the Edward Frymoyer Chair of Information Science and Technology.
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2018
Election as an AAAS Fellow
In 2018 the American Association for the Advancement of Science elects him a Fellow while he is on the faculty at Pennsylvania State University.
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2021
A Huck chair in biomedical AI
In 2021 the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences name him the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Biomedical Data Sciences and Artificial Intelligence. He directs the Center for Artificial Intelligence Foundations and Scientific Applications, and his work includes machine learning and bioinformatics.
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Since June 2026
Vice provost for artificial intelligence
In June 2026 he begins as Pennsylvania State University's inaugural vice provost for artificial intelligence. He also holds the Huck Chair in Biomedical Data Sciences and Artificial Intelligence.
Sources and credits
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- Vasant Honavar - Wikipedia
- Vasant Gajanan Honavar, Ph.D. | Population Research Institute
- Vasant Honavar
- AAAS Honors Accomplished Scientists as 2018 Elected Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- Honavar named Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science | Penn State University
- Vasant Honavar named Huck Chair in Biomedical Data Sciences and AI | Penn State University
- Vasant Honavar named vice provost for artificial intelligence at Penn State | Penn State University
- Vasant Honavar - Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences