Dr. Ramesh Kolluru established the Center for Business and Information Technologies (CBIT) at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2003 to support the University’s economic development agenda through research, development, and technology transfer.  Under his leadership, the Center is recognized as a prime source for business and information technology research and innovative solutions for existing and start-up businesses and government agencies in the State of Louisiana. The Center was recognized by Governor Mike Foster with the Lantern Award for contributions to economic development in Louisiana in 2003. Dr. Kolluru was instrumental in the University’s response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, working with the leadership of Louisiana Economic Development.

Established based on the lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the National Incident Management Systems and Advanced Technologies (NIMSAT) Institute at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is a national-scale partnership comprising of over 30 organizations from across 16 states in the U.S.  Dr. Kolluru serves as the Executive Director of the NIMSAT Institute.  Under his leadership, the Institute seeks to develop public-private partnerships to enhance national resiliency to a full range of potential disasters by conducting research leading to cutting edge tools and applications that empower the homeland security and emergency management (HSEM) community through education, training, and operational support. At the request of the Louisiana Governor’s office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), the NIMSAT Institute assisted in the informal deployment of these partnerships during hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008 for the benefit of the State, culminating in the establishment of the Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center (LABEOC). As the executive director of the NIMSAT Institute, Dr. Kolluru leads the LABEOC initiative for the State of Louisiana, under the overarching leadership of GOHSEP and LED, with support from LSU’s Stephenson Disaster Management Institute (SDMI).

Dr. Kolluru’s research has resulted in numerous technology licenses and has generated more than $40 million in research funding from federal and states agencies and the private sector.  Dr. Kolluru has been instrumental in the development of various technology-based economic development initiatives, including the Louisiana Immersive Technology Enterprise (LITE), and the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI), working across multiple administrations in the State of Louisiana.  In addition to making presentations at various regional and national forums, he has authored more than a dozen journal and transaction papers and numerous conference publications.  Dr. Kolluru, recipient of the 2007 Governor’s Technology Leader of the Year award, brings his academic preparation as a computer scientist to analyzing and solving problems through the use of technology.  His experience and expertise spans the areas of information technology, supply chain management, and critical infrastructure interdependency analysis, in addition to economic and workforce development.

His appointments at the University include serving as Director of CBIT, Executive Director of the NIMSAT Institute, and the Assistant Vice President for Research.