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APU Professor Honored as United States Air Force Distinguished Visiting Professor
October 15, 2008
AZUSA, Calif. –
Glendora, Calif. resident Samuel Sambasivam, Ph.D., Azusa Pacific University chair of the Department of Computer Science, was selected as a Distinguished Visiting Professor of computer science at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
“I am greatly honored by the appointment. I want to do whatever I can, even the smallest thing, to serve this beautiful country,” said Sambasivam.
Sambasivam will spend the 2008-09 academic year at the academy, where he will conduct research as well as teach computer science to prepare future Air Force officers to best serve their country.
The Distinguished Visiting Professor is chosen from college and university campuses all across the United States. Candidates must be an American citizen, be a full-time professor, and have a strong teaching and research record.
Sambasivam was born and raised in a small village in India with the dream to study in America. Despite discouragement from those around him that he would never leave his village, Sambasivam excelled in school and, after earning his Ph.D., made the journey on a student visa to Western Michigan State University. After living in the United States for more than a decade, Sambasivam was finally able to apply for citizenship and became an American citizen in 1999.
Sambasivam holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Madras in India, an M.S. in Computer Science from Western Michigan University, and a Ph.D. in Mathematics/Computer Science from Moscow State University in Russia.
Featured in TIME magazine and ranked as one of the nation’s best by U.S.News & World Report and The Princeton Review, Azusa Pacific is a comprehensive, Christian, evangelical university, committed to God First and known for excellence in higher education. Azusa Pacific’s main campus lies just 26 miles northeast of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley, while its seven Southern California regional centers bring convenience and extend quality programming. The university offers more than 60 areas of undergraduate study, 26 master's degree programs, and 7 doctorates to a total student population of more than 8,100.
