Arvind Gupta (born c. 1961) is an Indo-Canadian computer scientist who was the 13th President of the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the former CEO of Mitacs Canada.
Arvind Gupta | |
|---|---|
| 13th President of the University of British Columbia | |
| In office 2014–2015 | |
| Preceded by | Stephen Toope |
| Succeeded by | Martha Piper (interim) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1961 Jalandhar, Punjab, India |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Spouse | Michelle Pereira |
| Children | 3 daughters: Leandra Gupta |
| Occupation | Administrator |
| Profession | Academic, Mathematics, Computer Scientist |
Arvind Gupta | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | McMaster University, University of Toronto |
| Scientific career | |
| Thesis | Constructivity Issues in Tree Minors [1] (1990) |
| Doctoral advisor | Stephen Cook, Alasdair Urquhart |
Early life and education
editGupta was born in Jalandhar in the Indian state of Punjab.[2] Both his parents were academics. His mother was one of the first women to teach mathematics at a college in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.[3]
Gupta lived in India and spoke Punjabi for his first five years until his family moved to Detroit where his father, a chemistry professor, had started a fellowship at Wayne State University. He then learned to speak English. Within two years, they moved to Timmins, Ontario after his father earned a job as a pollution chemist with a mining company.
He obtained a bachelor's degree in mathematics at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario before earning a master's and a PhD at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of Stephen Cook and Alasdair Urquhart.[1] His family knew some of the victims killed in the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182.[3]
Academia
editGupta spent 18 years in the School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University before being recruited by UBC in 2009 as a professor of computer science. In 2012, he joined the federal government's Science, Technology and Innovation Council.[4]
From 2000 until his appointment as President of UBC in 2014, Gupta served as CEO and scientific director of Mitacs Canada, a national non-profit that worked with government and industry to fund student researchers.
In his inauguration, Gupta committed to increasing UBC's focus on research.[5] Gupta resigned abruptly from his position as President of UBC on August 7, 2015, after 13 months of service. The reasons for his resignation were not revealed[6] and caused some public controversies.[7]
In October 2015, the University of Toronto announced Gupta's joining them as a distinguished visiting professor for one academic year.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b Arvind Gupta - The Mathematics Genealogy Project
- ^ Sherlock, Tracey (Sep 13, 2014). "University of B.C. boss hates missed opportunities". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- ^ a b Smith, Charlie (March 26, 2014). "Incoming UBC president reinforces university's global brand". Georgia Straight. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
- ^ Ian Bailey; James Bradshaw (March 12, 2014). "Arvind Gupta, innovation expert, named next president of UBC". Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
- ^ Dhillon, Sunny (Sep 12, 2014). "UBC's Gupta kicks off term as president by adding $100-million to research funding". Globe and Mail.
- ^ "UBC announces leadership transition". UBC News. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-07.
- ^ MacQueen, Ken (August 18, 2015). "The acrimony and enigma of Arvind Gupta's exit from UBC". Maclean's. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ "Arvind Gupta, former UBC president, joins University of Toronto". CBC News. Canadian Press. Oct 1, 2015.