Dr. Venkat Allada

Dr. Venkat Allada, vice provost for graduate studies at Missouri University of Science and Technology, has been selected to participate in Leadership Missouri, a seven-month leadership program sponsored by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Starting in April, Allada and other business and state leaders will meet in a different Missouri city each month to focus on the specific challenges facing the particular region. During the sessions, participants will meet with Missouri leaders and explore the state’s opportunities, needs and resources. By visiting various regions, participants gain an enhanced view of the entire state.

Candidates are selected for the program on the basis of their prior leadership experience and the desire to become a more effective leader. A special subcommittee from the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry makes the selections.

Allada has served as Missouri S&T’s vice provost for graduate studies since June 2007. In this role, he provides campus leadership in areas of graduate education and graduate student advocacy. He works with all academic programs at Missouri S&T to coordinate graduate programs. Major accomplishments include increasing graduate enrollment at S&T, implementation of campus-wide graduate learning outcomes for research programs and securing campus resources to attract high-quality doctoral students. He currently serves as the 2015-16 chair-elect of the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools, which involves approximately 90 member institutions in 14 states.

Allada joined Missouri S&T in 1994 as an assistant professor of engineering management and systems engineering. He became associate professor in 2000 and professor in 2006. Also in 2006, he was named as associate chair of graduate studies for the department.

Allada earned his doctoral degree in Industrial Engineering from University of Cincinnati in 1994. His teaching and research interests are in areas of STEM education, lean thinking, design automation and sustainable product design. He is recipient of the 1998 ASEE Dow Outstanding New Faculty Award, 1998 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the 2005 Outstanding Contributions Award from Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lean Aerospace Initiative. He received the Faculty Excellence Award from Missouri S&T in 1998-1999, 1999-2000, 2000-2001 and 2005-06, the Outstanding Teaching Award of Excellence in 2005, and the Innovative Teaching Award in 2005. He has over 100 publications in refereed journals and conference proceedings.