Samer Saab

With an accomplished academic career developed over more than two decades in the School of Engineering, Professor Samer Saab brings solid experience to the position of Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, to which he was appointed in September 2020, after serving as Interim Dean of Graduate Studies and Research since October 2017.

In this role, he oversees programs and activities in support of interdisciplinary graduate education and research at LAU.

Dr. Saab joined the School of Engineering in 1996 and later served as chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (2005–2012) and as associate dean (2012–2013).

His research interests include optimal stochastic control, navigational positioning systems, control of robot manipulators, managerial policy design, and wireless communications. He is most noted for his foundation and development of Stochastic Iterative Learning Control algorithms and he recently introduced and developed Stochastic Multivariable PID controllers. He was the recipient of the first (2007–2008) LAU Best Research Award in engineering and physical sciences.

Dr. Saab’s academic qualifications include three degrees in electrical engineering — bachelor’s (1988), master’s (1989) and Ph.D. (1992) — as well as a master’s in applied mathematics (1990), all from the University of Pittsburgh.

After completing his doctorate, he worked with Union Switch and Signal and ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1993–1996).

Dr. Saab served on the editorial boards of IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology (2005–2011) and of the IEEE Control Systems Society-Conference (2005–2009). Since September 2015, he has been a member of the editorial board of IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, the control society’s flagship journal. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Shouf National College.