Rate My Professor Ivan Avrutsky

Ivan Avrutsky is Associate Professor and Program Director in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Wayne State University's James and Patricia Anderson College of Engineering. He holds a joint appointment in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. His academic interests center on micro- and nano-scale photonics, laser physics, optoelectronics, and integrated optics. Avrutsky directs the Integrated Optics and Nano-Photonics Laboratory, where research advances photonic devices and related technologies.

Avrutsky received the 2021 Outstanding Graduate Director Award from the Wayne State University Graduate School and the Office of the Provost for his transformative contributions to the Electrical and Computer Engineering graduate programs. Appointed director two and a half years prior, he enhanced student advising and support services, refined the curriculum, and strengthened recruitment and retention strategies. He led the department's comprehensive academic graduate program review, every seven years, implementing key reforms including revisions to the Ph.D. qualifying exam and innovative systems for monitoring student progress. These changes yielded a 30 percent increase in Ph.D. graduation rates. Through targeted recruitment for domestic students via pathways like AGRADE, M.S. program enrollment grew by 50 percent and Ph.D. enrollment by 75 percent. Collaborating with the department's industrial advisory board, Avrutsky introduced specialized one-credit elective courses taught by industry experts, addressing timely topics beyond traditional curricula to equip students with relevant skills. His research output comprises 88 publications amassing 2037 citations, demonstrating substantial influence in photonics and optoelectronics. Avrutsky teaches graduate-level courses such as ECE 7030 Mathematical Methods in Engineering I and ECE 7850 Photonics.