Professor Vijaysekhar Chellaboina, a distinguished academic leader and mathematician, took charge as the new Vice Chancellor of JK Lakshmipat University (JKLU) on August 19, 2025. Prior to joining JKLU, Prof. Chellaboina served as the Dean of the School of Computer Science at UPES Dehradun.
A noted scholar of mathematics of control systems, Professor Chellaboina has over 28 years of teaching, research, and academic leadership experience.
A native of Andhra Pradesh, Prof. Chellaboina received his education in India and the US. He completed his B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras, M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Florida Institute of Technology, and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
A mechanical and aerospace engineer by training and an applied mathematician by practice, Prof. Chellaboina has made notable contributions to the stability and control of dynamical systems theory and applications.
Prof. Chellaboina has held leadership and faculty positions at Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Mahindra University, SRM University-Andhra Pradesh, GITAM University, and UPES Dehradun. During his career spanning nearly three decades, he also served as a principal scientist at TCS Research, heading the Risk and Finance Group.
He has taught courses on robust control for linear systems, nonlinear control systems, advanced dynamics, mathematics (calculus, linear algebra, probability, and statistics), strength of materials, engineering drawing, systems dynamics, control systems, and mathematical biology.
His varied research interests cover a broad spectrum of areas, including the mathematics of control systems, contributing significantly to the stability and control of dynamical systems theory and applications. His research interests encompass areas such as adaptive control for biomedical systems and stochastic optimisation for financial portfolios. Currently, his interests include reinforcement learning for control systems, machine learning, and quantum computing.
Prof. Chellaboina has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers and five books with Springer and Princeton University Press. His work, with over 8,000 citations and an h-index of 36, has influenced applications ranging from biomedical systems to financial portfolio optimisation.
The books that he has co-authored include Hierarchical Nonlinear Switching Control Design with Applications to Propulsion Systems (Springer, 2000), Thermodynamics – A Dynamical Systems Approach (Princeton University Press, 2005), Impulsive and Hybrid Dynamical Systems: Stability, Dissipativity, and Control (Princeton University Press, 2006), Nonlinear Dynamical Systems and Control: A Lyapunov-Based Approach (Princeton University Press, 2008), and Nonnegative and Compartmental Dynamical Systems (Princeton University Press, 2010).
His book on nonlinear dynamical systems is widely used as a textbook/reference in advanced courses at top global universities, and his book on thermodynamics offers a unique perspective on the laws of thermodynamics using a dynamical systems approach.
Widely recognised for contributions to aerospace engineering and applied mathematics, Prof. Chellaboina is a recipient of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award and the TCS Distinguished Researcher Award. He received state-level awards in mathematical Olympiads for three consecutive years.
