Martin Griss steps up to the podium and looks out at the faces of the 400 or so alumni, students, and trustees gathered for the Bay Area's Inspire Innovation kickoff event. It is a typically gorgeous summer day at Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley, and President Jared Cohon has just formally announced that Griss is the new director of the campus. He succeeds James Morris, founding director of the campus that offers graduate degrees in software engineering, software management, networking, security and mobility, and engineering and technology innovation management.
Griss, world-renowned for his work in software reuse and software agents, has been involved with the development of the Silicon Valley campus since its infancy and initially joined the university to manage the software engineering program in 2003. He eventually became the associate dean of research and co-director of CyLab Mobility Research Center.
With his involvement in research and the center, he wasn't sure that he wanted to take on the responsibilities of director of the campus when first approached with the idea by Pradeep Khosla, dean of the College of Engineering. But Griss thought more about his vision for the campus, which he calls a "three-legged stool," integrating state-of-the-art software engineering and management education; research that is connected to the campus' educational programs; and entrepreneurship for students with innovative business ideas—all well-connected to the Silicon Valley ecosystem.
Griss realized that, as director, he could help to make his vision happen and move the campus forward. "Plus, Pradeep is a pretty convincing guy," he adds, chuckling. As he begins to speak to his campus community—now as its director—he admits that he's nervous, happy, excited—and energized.
—Kelly Delaney (HS'09)
