Boston University College of Engineering has appointed Emiliano Dall\u2019Anese<\/a>, associate professor of electrical & computer engineering and systems engineering, as interim head of the Division of Systems Engineering, effective July 1, 2026. Dall\u2019Anese will serve a one-year term while the college conducts an international search for the division\u2019s next leader.<\/p>\n Dall\u2019Anese succeeds Distinguished Professor Christos Cassandras<\/a>, who is stepping down to return to the faculty after 18 years as division head. Since assuming the role in 2008, Cassandras has helped shape Systems Engineering (SE) into an internationally recognized research community known for its strengths in optimization, control systems, autonomous systems, networks, data-driven decision-making, and complex systems analysis.<\/p>\n Dall\u2019Anese joined Boston University<\/a> in 2024. His research focuses on optimization, control, machine learning, dynamical systems, and sustainable energy systems, advancing approaches that help complex systems adapt, respond, and operate more efficiently in real time.<\/p>\n The Division of Systems Engineering<\/a> advances convergent research that brings together expertise in engineering, computation, decision science, and complex systems to address real-world challenges. Through its master\u2019s programs, PhD program, and undergraduate minor, the division prepares students to address large-scale challenges in areas ranging from autonomy and intelligent systems to infrastructure, sustainability, robotics, and data-driven engineering.<\/p>\n A nationally recognized researcher in optimization, control, and learning for cyber-physical and network systems, Dall\u2019Anese develops methods and algorithms that improve the safety, efficiency, resilience, and sustainability of complex engineered systems. His work addresses challenges in sustainable energy<\/a>, intelligent infrastructure, and autonomous systems, with applications ranging from optimized power systems<\/a> and incentivized renewable energy transitions to electric vehicles, robotics, and other intelligent technologies.<\/p>\n Dall\u2019Anese has earned national recognition for his research, including a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, leadership on federally funded projects, and contributions to advancing intelligent control and optimization methods for energy systems and networked infrastructures.<\/p>\n Dall\u2019Anese is looking forward to his time leading a unique, convergent academic division. \u201cThe SE division has provided BU with a distinctive graduate academic identity in a discipline that cuts across traditional departmental boundaries,\u201d he says. \u201cIt has served as a unified intellectual home for faculty and students whose interests lie in the modeling, analysis, and design of complex systems. Today, these systems\u2014from robotics to smart cities, power grids, AI data centers, and health systems\u2014are increasingly distributed,data-rich, intelligent, and composed of interacting physical, computational, social, and decision-making layers. Research and education in these domains require tools and methods that are not fully housed within any single traditional department.\u201d<\/p>\n As interim head, Dall\u2019Anese aims to amplify the division\u2019s educational, research, and external footprint, and modernize its educational programs so that graduate students receive both rigorous methodological training and clearer pathways into high-impact careers, he says.<\/p>\n \u201cLastly, an important goal for SE is to be a place where students find an intellectual home and can succeed,\u201d Dall\u2019Anese adds. \u201cThat means maintaining a supportive and intellectually vibrant environment in which students from different backgrounds have access to mentorship, understand the expectations of the program, and can see clear paths toward academic, research, and professional success.\u201d<\/p>\n Dall\u2019Anese succeeds Christos Cassandras, a distinguished scholar and internationally recognized expert in systems, optimization, control, robotics, and applied probability. Since becoming division head in 2008, Cassandras has helped shape SE into a collaborative and intellectually expansive division with strong ties across engineering, computing, mathematics, data science, and emerging technologies.<\/p>\n Over the course of his leadership, Cassandras helped strengthen the SE division\u2019s academic identity, research profile, and interdisciplinary collaborations while mentoring generations of students and faculty and advancing research at the intersection of autonomy, intelligent systems, and complex decision-making.<\/p>\n Reflecting on the success of SE over the past 18 years, Cassandras says, \u201cThe division has pioneered an interdisciplinary graduate program that offers a unique combination of mathematical and methodological depth for addressing high-impact societal and technological challenges for which such interdisciplinarity is indispensable, from smart cities to data-driven medical informatics. Our program has been ranked number-one in a number of important categories that Academic Analytics uses based on purely objective data. The program is widely recognized as a leader in the field of systems and control with several prestigious award winners among our faculty and a prominent presence at international conferences and professional organizations like IEEE.\u201d<\/p>\n Cassandras, who is returning to the faculty to pursue a number of impactful research projects, says that Dall\u2019Anese is well suited to take the helm of the division as interim head. \u201cEmiliano has embraced the mission of Systems Engineering at BU and will take it to the next level through his ability to focus on the emerging themes that will characterize the field over the next decade: AI and data-driven methods, autonomy, human-machine interacting systems, and energy sustainability,\u201d Cassandras says. \u201cHis enthusiasm is infectious, and he has demonstrated an ability to work with everyone, exhibiting grace through adversity and adherence to the professional principles that have helped him achieve the level of recognition as a world-class researcher that he enjoys today.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Systems Engineering Division is at an exciting moment, says Dean Elise Morgan, sharing her thoughts on the division\u2019s momentum and the opportunities ahead under Dall\u2019Anese\u2019s leadership. \u201cThe problems it has always cared about\u2014how complex systems behave, adapt, and can be made to perform better\u2014are now central to some of the most consequential challenges in engineering: energy transitions, autonomous systems, intelligent infrastructure, and more. Christos Cassandras spent 18 years building a division with the talent, culture, and research vision to meet exactly these kinds of challenges, and his legacy is evident. I am sincerely thankful for his service and leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cI am also delighted to welcome Emiliano Dall’Anese to this leadership role,\u201d Morgan says. \u201cHe joined BU just a year ago, and he has already built a leading program in sustainable infrastructure and intelligent systems. Emiliano has exactly the kind of scientific depth and instinct for collaboration that SE needs as it looks ahead. I am excited to see what he and the SE community build together.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Shaping the Future Boston University College of Engineering has appointed Emiliano Dall\u2019Anese, associate professor of electrical & computer engineering and systems engineering, as interim head of the Division of Systems Engineering, effective July 1, 2026. Dall\u2019Anese will serve a one-year term while the college conducts an international search for the division\u2019s next leader. Dall\u2019Anese succeeds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25708,"featured_media":174924,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[236,977,907,1262,910],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174922"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25708"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174922"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174928,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174922\/revisions\/174928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Optimizing Complex Systems for Societal Impact<\/h3>\n
Celebrating 18 Years of Leadership and Service<\/h3>\n
Continuing a Tradition of Excellence<\/h3>\n