Mohammad A. Karim, Ph.D.
Vice-President for Research
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, Virginia


Mohammad A. Karim is Vice-President for Research at the Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, Virginia, and as such he overseas its research enterprise, that conducts $50M in research expenditures, and involves six colleges, 20+ research centers, 600+ faculty and 5000+ graduate students. Karim serves on the Governor’s Virginia Research and Technology Advisory Commission (VRTAC), and on the board of the Southern Universities Research Association (SURA). Since 1999, he has been serving as chair of the International Program Committee of the International Conference on Computing and Information Technology (ICCIT). Karim is North American Editor of Optics and Laser Technology, an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions of Education, a Member of the Editorial Board of Microwave and Optical Technology Letters. He has served as guest editor of 16 technical journal issues.

Prior to joining ODU, Mohammad Karim served as Dean of Engineering at the City College of New York of the City University of New York (2000-2004), Head of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Tennessee (1998-2000), and Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering (1994-1998) and Founding Director of Electro-Optics (1990-1998) at the University of Dayton in Ohio.

Karim is author of 8 text and reference books, over 325 research papers, 6 book chapters, 10 book reviews, 2 US patents, and of numerous technical reports and editorials. His books Digital Design: A Pragmatic Approach (1987), Electro-Optical Devices and Systems (1990), Optical Computing: An Introduction (1992), Electro-Optical Displays (1992), Continuous Signals and Systems with Matlab (2001), and Contemporary Digital Design (2005) are used in numerous universities and institutions throughout the world at both undergraduate and graduate levels. He is an elected fellow of the Optical Society of America (OSA), the Society of Photo-Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE), and Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS) and a Distinguished Engineering Fellow of the University of Alabama.

Karim’s area of research encompasses optical computing, information processing, pattern/target recognition, night vision, displays, electro-optical systems, and sensors. The list of his past and current research sponsors include US Air Force, Naval Research Laboratory, US Army, National Science Foundation, NASA, US Department of Education, Ohio Aerospace Institute, US Department of Defense, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. During his academic career, Karim served as research mentor of over 55 MS/PhD. students.

Mohammad Karim was born in 1953, completed his pre-university education at Faujdarhat Cadet College and Sylhet Government College in Bangladesh, and received his BS Honors degree in physics from the University of Dacca in 1976, and MS in physics, MS in electrical engineering, and Ph.D. in electrical engineering degrees from the University of Alabama respectively in 1978, 1979, and 1981. Karim was ranked first among the 39,488 students who took the Bangladesh’s Higher Secondary Certificate Examination in 1972, and fourth among the 64,432 students who took the Secondary School Certificate Examination in 1969.

Dr. Karim is recipient of numerous awards: Outstanding Engineering Research Award (1998), Outstanding Scientist Award (1994), Alumni Award in Scholarship (1991), NASA Tech Brief Award (1990), Up and Comers Education Award (1990), and NCR Stakeholder Award (1989). He has been listed in American Men and Women in Science, Marquis International Who’s Who in Optical Science & Engineering, Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, Who’s Who in America, Outstanding People of the 20th Century, Dictionary of International Biography, and 2000 Outstanding Scientists of the 20th Century.

Dr. Karim and his wife Setara lives in Virginia Beach, VA, have a son, Lutfi, and two daughters, Lamya, and Aliya.