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"Dr. Muhammad Anan is an accomplished academic and industry leader with more than 27 years of experience spanning academic leadership, research, and professional practice. He brings over a decade of industry expertise from key roles at Sprint and IBM, where he specialized in telecommunications, software engineering, and IT consulting. In academia, he has served for over seventeen years at Purdue University Northwest and Alfaisal University, contributing to teaching, research, and institutional development.
Dr. Anan currently serves as Dean of the College of Engineering and Advanced Computing at Alfaisal University, Saudi Arabia. His leadership journey at Alfaisal includes roles as Acting Dean (2017–2024), Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs (2015–2017), and Chair of the Software Engineering Department (2014–2016). Before joining Alfaisal in 2014, he held faculty positions at Purdue University Northwest, USA (2008–2014), Abu Dhabi University, UAE (2010–2014), and the University of Missouri–Kansas City, USA (2006–2007), gaining valuable international experience.
He earned his B.S. in Computer Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia, in 1997, followed by an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Missouri (MU), Columbia in 1999, and an M.S. in Software Engineering from the University of Kansas (KU), Lawrence in 2003. He completed his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering and Telecommunications Networking at the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) in 2008.
At Alfaisal, Dr. Anan has spearheaded innovative academic programs, emphasizing international accreditation, global rankings, and strong industry partnerships. He has extensive experience building collaborations with universities and organizations worldwide, strengthening Alfaisal’s role in research and innovation.
A Senior Member of IEEE, Dr. Anan actively contributes to the profession by serving on technical program committees of international conferences and journals. He has authored numerous research papers, book chapters, and presented at leading universities, conferences, and high-tech companies. His work has earned multiple honors, including the Outstanding Leadership Award from Purdue University and the Annual Research Award from Alfaisal University.
Dr. Anan strongly advocates for hands-on, research-driven learning that fosters innovation and student success. His teaching and research interests span computer networking, cloud computing, software-defined networking, IoT, smart cities, AI, wireless sensor networks, embedded systems, computer architecture, and software engineering."