{"id":898,"date":"2021-05-06T14:55:26","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T14:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ece\/people\/advisory-committee\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T12:09:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T16:09:34","slug":"advisory-committee","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ece\/people\/advisory-committee\/","title":{"rendered":"Advisory Committee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Advisory Committee Members<\/span><\/p>\n

Antkowiak received a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Science in computer engineering from the University of Maryland. He has also completed the General Manager\u2019s Program at Harvard University.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Alyssa Apsel<\/a>, PhD ’03
\n<\/strong>Director, Electrical and Computer Engineering<\/em>
\nCornell University<\/p>\n

Alyssa Apsel received a B.S. from Swarthmore College in 1995 and a PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 2003. She joined Cornell University in 2002, where she is currently Director of Electrical and Computer Engineering. She was a Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London from 2016-2018. Her current research is on the leading edge of ultra-low power and flexible RF interfaces for IoT. She has authored or coauthored over 100 refereed publications including one book in related fields of RF mixed signal circuit design, ultra-low power radio, interconnect design and planning, photonic integration, and process invariant circuit design techniques resulting in ten patents. In 2016, Dr. Apsel co-founded AlphaWave IP Corporation, a multi-national Silicon IP provider focused on multi-standard analog Silicon IP solutions for the world of IOT. As Chief Technology Officer of AlphaWave, Dr. Apsel led the company\u2019s global research capability with offices in Silicon Valley, Toronto, and London.<\/p>\n

\"\"Shekar Ayyar<\/a>, MS ’89, PhD ’92
\n<\/strong>Chairman & CEO<\/em>
\nArrcus<\/p>\n

\n

Shekar Ayyar<\/span>\u202fis currently the Chairman and CEO of Arrcus, a leading Silicon Valley networking infrastructure company with some of the world\u2019s largest market cap companies as customers. Shekar is a seasoned technology executive and industry leader with over twenty-five years of experience spanning general management, research, strategy, mergers &\u00a0acquisitions, and business development. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Before joining Arrcus, Dr. Ayyar was Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Telco and Edge Cloud business at VMware (now part of Broadcom). He incubated and grew this business to become one of the largest vertical opportunities for VMware in the context of 5G and Edge Computing.<\/span> Prior to his\u00a0General\u00a0Manager role, Shekar was EVP of Strategy and Corporate Development, leading VMware\u2019s M&A, corporate venture, and strategic investments for several\u202fyears, spanning over 60 acquisitions and investments across a wide range of target companies and transaction sizes.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Before joining VMware in 2007, Dr. Ayyar led product management and business development at companies like BindView, a compliance and security software company acquired by Symantec (now part of Broadcom) and Instantis, Inc. a web application automation company acquired by Oracle. In prior roles at other companies, including Lucent and <\/span>McKinsey & Co.<\/span>, Dr. Ayyar advised C-level executives on a wide range of strategic technology and business decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Dr. Ayyar <\/span> has an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated as a Palmer Scholar. He also holds a Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor\u2019s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, both in electrical engineering.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Dr. Ayyar <\/span> is on the board of Altair (NASDAQ: ALTR), on the regional board of Room to Read, a non-profit focused on supporting literacy and girls\u2019 education globally, and on the Advisory Board of the Johns Hopkins University, ECE Department.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In August of 2012, Dr. Glenn became the Dean of the College of Engineering, Technology, and Physical Sciences at the Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, Alabama. Dr. Glenn\u00a0is currently the Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs. He is leading the college through its expansion to prepare students and researchers to meet the global needs of the 21st<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

\"\"Conrad J. Grant<\/a>, MS ’82, ’84
\n<\/strong>APL Chief Engineer
\n<\/em>Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (APL)<\/p>\n

Conrad J. Grant is the Chief Engineer for the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the nation\u2019s largest University Affiliated Research Center, performing research and development on behalf of the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other federal agencies. He previously served for over a decade as the Head of the APL Air and Missile Defense Sector where he led 1200 staff developing advanced air and missile defense systems for the U.S. Navy and the Missile Defense Agency.<\/p>\n

Mr. Grant has extensive experience in the application of systems engineering to the design, development, test and evaluation, and fielding of complex systems involving multi-sensor integration, command and control, human-machine interfaces, and guidance and control systems. Mr. Grant\u2019s engineering leadership in APL prototype systems for the Navy is now evidenced by capabilities on board over 100 cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft carriers of the U.S. Navy and its Allies.<\/p>\n

Mr. Grant earned a Master of Science in Applied Physics and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University, Whiting School of Engineering.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Damianos Karakos<\/strong><\/a>
\nAssociate Director<\/em>
\nResearch RTX BBN Technologies<\/p>\n

Dr. Damianos Karakos received a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 2002. He was Faculty Research Associate at the same university between 2002-2003. He next joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), where he was a Postdoctoral Fellow between 2003-2007, and an Assistant Research Professor between 2007-2012. He was also affiliated with the Center for Language and Speech Processing at JHU. He joined RTX BBN in 2012, where he is currently an Associate Director of Research in the Analytics and Machine Intelligence (AMI) unit. In the past 15 years, Dr. Karakos has worked on multiple Government-funded programs at JHU and BBN, with a focus on development of state-of-the-art human language technology. Dr. Karakos has published more than 60 peer-reviewed papers in conferences, workshops and journals. His research interests lie at the intersection of human language technology and machine learning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"Lawrence “Larry” Kenn<\/a>ey<\/a>, BS ’78
\n<\/strong>Senior Tech Fellow
\n<\/em>Collins Aerospace<\/p>\n

Larry Kenney is a Senior Tech Fellow of Collins Aerospace, and a Senior Engineering Fellow with Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS). He is the Technical Director for the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) product area that provides IFF solutions to US and international customers. Larry provides leadership for technology development and program execution, while contributing to strategic planning and business capture for IFF systems.<\/p>\n

Mr. Kenney has a bachelor\u2019s degree and a post-master\u2019s advanced certificate in Electrical Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University and a master\u2019s degree in Electrical Engineering from the George Washington University with concentration in Communications.<\/p>\n

\"\"Adrian Le Pera<\/strong><\/a>, MS ’97<\/strong>
\nLead Data Engineer
\n<\/em>Meta<\/p>\n

Adrian Le Pera is a technology leader currently serving as Lead Data Engineer and Machine Learning (ML) domain expert at Meta Platforms Inc. He designs data products and leads initiatives driving innovation in Big Data, AI infrastructure, ML model performance, algorithmic fairness, and compliance. He has driven significant cross-functional programs advancing ML adoption and establishing best practices within the organization through technical summits and mentorship.<\/p>\n

Before Meta, Mr. Le Pera held global leadership roles at Nielsen, defining mobile measurement strategies and launching new market research data products across the globe. He also co-founded an online media startup, for which he was selected as an Endeavor entrepreneur, serving as CTO before its acquisition. His foundational experience was at Alcatel-Lucent, managing large-scale global teams and directing major wireless technology deployments.<\/p>\n

Mr. Le Pera earned a Master of Science in Engineering in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Johns Hopkins University\u2019s Whiting School of Engineering and a BA in Physics from Franklin & Marshall College.<\/p>\n

\"\"Alan Willner<\/a>, PhD
\n<\/strong>Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professorial Chair and Distinguished Professor<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/strong>University of Southern California<\/p>\n

Prof. Alan Willner received his B.A. and Honorary Doctorate from Yeshiva University and his PhD from Columbia University, has worked at AT&T Bell Labs and Bellcore, and is the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professorial Chair and Distinguished Professor at\u00a0the Univ. of Southern California. His honors include: Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering; International Fellow of the U.K. Royal Academy of Engineering; Thomas Egleston Medal from Columbia Engineering Alumni Association; IEEE Eric Sumner Technical Field Award; NSF Presidential Faculty Fellows Award from the White House; Guggenheim, Packard, Vannevar Bush, and Fulbright Foundation Fellowships; IET JJ Thompson Medal; OSA Forman Engineering Excellence Award; IEEE Photonics Society Engineering Achievement Award; IEEE Globecom Best Paper Award; Eddy Best Technical Paper Award; Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors; SPIE President\u2019s Award, and Edwin Armstrong Foundation Memorial Award for an EE Masters student at Columbia University. Prof. Willner has served as Co-Chair of the U.S. National Academies Study on Optics & Photonics; President of the Optical Society; President of the IEEE Photonics Society; Member of the U.S. Army Science Board; Editor-in-Chief of OSA Optics Letters, IEEE\/OSA J. of Lightwave Technology, and IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics. He is a Fellow of AAAS, IEEE, IET, OSA and SPIE.<\/p>\n

\"\"Edward Zyszkowski<\/a>, BA ’84
\n<\/strong>Chairman
\n<\/em>3X3 Capital LLC.<\/p>\n

Edward Zyszkowski serves as the Chairman of 3×3 Capital LLC, Chairman of edzLabs LLC and is the Co-founder of Personal Digital Spaces LLC, a digital asset application development platform.<\/p>\n

Zyszkowski previously co-founded Skyview Ventures and served as Chief Technology officer at Syncplicity, Digital Fuel, <\/span>NewNet Communications Technologies and Skyview Capital LLC where he was a member of the investment committee and oversaw technology strategy, diligence and oversight for Skyview Capital investments and its portfolio companies. He has served as a founder, CEO, CTO, investor and corporate advisor to create billions of dollars of value through industry-transforming technologies. He started his career at the Research Institute for Advanced Studies (Martin Marietta) as a principle investigator, building robotics systems for the Space Shuttle. He later invented foundational \u201cdata mining\u201d technologies and developed parallel text search systems for Dow Jones and Microsoft while at Thinking Machines Corporation in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Zyszkowski later founded and led Torrent Systems to develop Orchestrate, a parallel processing big data environment, later sold to IBM that forms the basis for their Information Server product. He has also assembled, inspired and led high performing teams to create technology companies that he sold to Boeing, Yahoo! and Google. Zyszkowski holds numerous technology patents and continues to explore the next wave of transformational technology, including the explosion of big data, machine learning and distributed ledger systems. Zyszkowski is a member of the Editorial Board of IEEE Spectrum. He completed his undergraduate degree in Biophysics at the Johns Hopkins University, postgraduate studies at MIT and an eMBA at Babson College.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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