Ram Ramanujam Selected as Special Advisor on AI, Steps Down as CCT Director
May 22, 2025
Ram Ramanujam
Jagannathan “Ram” Ramanujam, director of the LSU Center for Computation & Technology (CCT) and the John E. and Beatrice L. Ritter Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the LSU College of Engineering, has been chosen to serve as special advisor to LSU Vice President of Research & Economic Development Robert Twilley on strategic AI and data science initiatives. As part of the move, effective June 2, Ramanujam will step down as CCT director to broaden his focus on helping the university build winning teams to secure federal and corporate funding for research at LSU.
“Artificial intelligence and data and quantum science are strategic research priorities that align with government and industry needs and cut across all areas of LSU’s Scholarship First Agenda,” Twilley said. “Ramanujam joining our team will position LSU to build on its accomplishments in computational sciences and pursue new opportunities in frontier research.”
Ramanujam has served as CCT director since 2014. During his tenure, CCT has established itself as a major center for data-driven, interdisciplinary research. The center is home to 44 joint faculty who support several priority areas for research at LSU, including cybersecurity (7 faculty), coastal modeling (8 faculty), and AI (5 faculty).
During Ramanujam’s time as director, CCT researchers have helped secure large, federal awards, including to develop a digital twin for NASA (Marc Aubanel, director of LSU’s Digital Media Arts & Engineering program, and Associate Professor Derick Ostrenko, LSU College of Art & Design), build the nation’s cyber workforce (LSU Cyber Center Director and LSU College of Engineering Professor Golden Richard), improve computer science education in Louisiana schools (Juana Moreno, the Patricia Hewlett Bodin Distinguished Professor of Physics in the LSU College of Science), and develop solutions for national security and defense (Professors Aisha Ali-Gombe, Hartmut Kaiser, and Golden Richard, LSU College of Engineering).
In addition to overseeing collaborative efforts and advancing the use of advanced computing technologies to solve complex problems, Ramanujam has more than 11,500 citations for his own research, which spans hardware and software, including high-performance computing, compilers, and computer architecture. He was named an LSU Distinguished Research Master in 2016.
“I am excited about this opportunity and look forward to focusing exclusively on AI and data science initiatives,” Ramanujam said. “AI can significantly and positively impact every aspect of research and education at LSU.”
LSU will soon name an interim director of CCT. If you’d like to submit a nomination or send in your resume, please email research@lsu.edu by Tuesday, May 27, 2025. Candidates should be full professors with administrative experience.
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