Dean of CMU’s School of Computer Science steps down

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Andrew Moore is stepping down from his role as dean at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science, the university announced Tuesday.

Mr. Moore, who has served as dean since August 2014, is leaving to pursue a new professional opportunity, which has not yet been disclosed. He will remain at CMU through December.

Farnam Jahanian, president of CMU, said that in the next few weeks a national search for Mr. Moore’s successor will begin and the university will appoint an interim dean.

The move ends Mr. Moore’s career with CMU, which began in 1993 when he joined the faculty as an assistant professor of computer science and robotics.

Since then, Mr. Moore — who holds both a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a Ph.D. in computer science from Cambridge — has focused his research on machine learning, reinforcement learning and data mining.

In 2006, he took a leave of absence to launch Google’s Pittsburgh office in Bakery Square, which is responsible for the tech underpinning the Mountain View, Calif.-based company’s advertising and e-commerce systems. Since then, the office in Larimer has grown to employ over 500 people.

Four years ago, Mr. Moore returned to CMU to head the School of Computer Science, becoming the fifth dean.

During his tenure, the program saw gender parity for the first time. Last year, 50 percent of incoming undergraduates to the School of Computer Science were women.

He also oversaw the creation of the new CMU AI Initiative last summer. The program is essentially a bid to unite the university’s various disciplines of artificial intelligence research under one umbrella. The goal is to draw more startups, investors and funding to the university and region.

Earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report ranked Carnegie Mellon, under Mr. Moore’s leadership, as the top computer science program in the country.

“When I took this post four years ago, I talked of how I was inspired by the world-changing ideas and technologies spawned by the School of Computer Science; today I can say I’m simply awed by what’s happening here — everything ranging from our research in artificial intelligence to the increasing diversity of our student body,” Mr. Moore said in a release.

“I am bursting with excitement to see where SCS is going next.”