Ashok Agrawala to Retire After 55 Years at UMD CS

When Ashok Agrawala arrived at the University of Maryland in 1971, computer science at the university was still taking institutional shape. The Department of Computer Science had not yet been formally established, the personal computer era had not yet begun and many of the systems that now support daily communication remained research questions.

More than five decades later, Agrawala is preparing to retire after 55 years at UMD, closing a faculty career that began before the department’s founding in 1973 and continued through major changes in computing research, education and infrastructure.

Agrawala, a professor of computer science who previously held appointments in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has worked in systems, networking, real-time computing, wireless systems, synchronization and health informatics. His research has also extended into machine learning, data science and the Internet of Things.

Reflecting on his time at UMD, Agrawala said his long career has given him a view of the department’s development to its current role as a top-ranked program.

“When I joined UMD, computer science was still a young discipline working to define its foundations and broader role,” Agrawala said. “Since then, the department has grown from a small group of faculty and students into a major center for research, education and innovation. What impresses me most is not just its size or reputation, but its ability to keep reinventing itself while maintaining a commitment to rigorous thinking, strong teaching and meaningful research.”

Department Chair Matthias Zwicker said Agrawala’s career reflects both the department’s history and the long-term role faculty members play in shaping its research and educational mission.

“Ashok’s career at UMD is unique in its scope, spanning more than five decades and reflecting the department’s journey from its founding to the program we see today,” said Zwicker, who holds the Elizabeth Iribe Chair for Innovation and the Phillip H. and Catherine C. Horvitz Professorship. “He has been a steady presence of change in computer science, contributing to the department not only through his research, but also through his tireless mentorship, service and commitment to students.”

Agrawala’s academic career began in India, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. He later earned a master’s degree and doctorate in applied mathematics from Harvard University, completing his Ph.D. in 1970 before joining UMD the following year.

At UMD, his career became closely tied to the department’s early development. The department was formed from the Computer Science Center in 1973, and its Bachelor of Science degree program began that same year.

As the department grew, Agrawala’s work followed computing into increasingly networked and mobile environments. One of his widely cited contributions is the Ricart-Agrawala algorithm, developed with alum Glenn Ricart (Ph.D. ’80, computer science), for mutual exclusion in distributed systems. The algorithm addresses how multiple computers in a distributed system can coordinate access to a shared resource without interfering with one another.

That work reflected an area of computing that became increasingly important as networks expanded beyond individual machines. Over time, Agrawala’s research moved from coordination problems in distributed systems to applications involving wireless devices, real-time information and public safety.

“Information has been the central thread in my work, including how it is represented, communicated, interpreted and used to coordinate action,” Agrawala said. “My interests have moved across systems, networks, distributed computing, mobile computing and public safety applications, but the underlying question has remained the same. How can information systems help people and organizations function more effectively? I have always been interested in how technology interacts with real human needs, decisions and consequences, and that broader view has shaped much of my research.”

He later directed the Maryland Information and Network Dynamics (MIND) Lab, where projects included indoor location technology, clock synchronization and context-aware systems. The lab’s work focused on computing systems that could respond to location, time and changing conditions in the physical world.

One of those projects was M-Urgency, a wireless campus safety application developed by Agrawala and student programmers. The app allowed users in distress to send audio, video and location information to emergency responders. In 2012, he received two awards for his contributions to public safety through the project, including a VITA Wireless Samaritan Award from The Wireless Foundation and CTIA-The Wireless Association.

The project reflected Agrawala’s interest in connecting research with applications that could address immediate needs. It also gave students a way to work on technology with a clear public safety purpose.

“Working with students has been one of the most important and rewarding parts of my career,” Agrawala said. “Projects such as M-Urgency were shaped by students who challenged ideas, built prototypes and helped keep the work grounded in real-world needs. Public safety is an area where the connection between computing and society becomes very direct, and it reminds us that computer science is not only about abstraction and algorithms, but also about responsibility, usability, reliability and impact.”

His work in wireless systems also included the MAXWell Lab, a UMD facility announced in 2008 for testing applications using WiMAX, a wireless communications technology. Agrawala directed the lab, which was intended to give developers a test environment connected to a large university community.

Agrawala’s research and service have been recognized through several honors. He was named an IEEE fellow in 1991 for contributions to distributed algorithms and policies for computer systems, and he became a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2005. In 2021, he received an honorary doctorate from Dayalbagh Educational Institute in Agra, India.

He has been awarded seven patents, all of which have been licensed. He has also graduated 58 Ph.D. students, including 22 who went on to join university faculties. Several others have gone on to notable careers, including one inductee to the Internet Hall of Fame, several CEOs and company founders, and others who have received major professional recognition.

His retirement comes as the department continues to expand into areas not defined when he began his career, including artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity, immersive media, and wearable technologies. During his time at UMD, the department grew from its early roots into a program with more than 100 faculty members, 16 research areas and more than 10,000 alumni who have gone on to found ventures shaping the field.

For Agrawala, that growth is measured not only by research areas, rankings or alumni outcomes, but also by the people who shaped the department across generations. 

“What I have enjoyed most is the intellectual life of the department, being surrounded by talented colleagues, bright students and a constant flow of new ideas,” Agrawala said. “I have also enjoyed watching generations of students grow into leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs and educators. The department has not just been a workplace for me. It has been an intellectual home.”

—Story by Samuel Malede Zewdu, CS Communications                                                                     

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On May 8, Agrawala delivered a Distinguished Talk titled “From Bits to Being: Computation, Consciousness, and the Next Frontier of Computer Science,” examining how computer science has grown into a force shaping human civilization and why the field must also consider the people for whom computational systems are built. For pictures from the event, click here.