Krishna S. Nayak

Dr. Krishna S. Nayak serves as Dean's Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering. He directs the Signal and Image Processing Institute, Dynamic Imaging Science Center, and Magnetic Resonance Engineering Laboratory (MREL), leading interdisciplinary collaborations with radiologists, cardiologists, pulmonologists, and obesity researchers.

His educational background includes a PhD (2001) and MS (1996) in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, and BS degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Applied Mathematics from Florida State University (1995).

Nayak's research pioneers MRI technology development with core expertise in pulse sequence design, real-time imaging, and quantitative reconstruction. His lab focuses on translating innovations to clinical applications for cardiovascular disease, obesity, and speech production through low-field systems, compressed sensing, and machine learning techniques. Current projects target high-performance imaging for coronary disease, cancer biomarkers, and vocal tract dynamics.

His publication portfolio shows consistent advancement in MRI methodology, with recent work emphasizing low-field systems (0.55T), real-time speech imaging, and artifact correction. Key trends include clinical translation of quantitative biomarkers and hardware-software co-design for specialized applications.

• Jan 2022, Fellow, IEEE
• Apr 2020, USC Viterbi Use-Inspired Research Award
• May 2019, ISMRM Board of Trustees
• Apr 2018, Fellow, SCMR
• Apr 2017, Fellow, AIMBE
• Apr 2009, GE Healthcare Thought Leader Award

His research program receives sustained funding from NIH, NSF, American Heart Association, and Coulter Foundation, supporting mentorship of graduate students and postdocs. As evidenced by his USC-Mellon Mentoring Award, he maintains strong commitment to training next-generation engineers through the MREL's collaborative environment.

The Magnetic Resonance Engineering Laboratory operates as a multidisciplinary hub developing state-of-the-art imaging solutions, with active projects spanning hardware configurations, real-time cardiac imaging, and quantitative pulmonary assessment through close clinical partnerships.