In recognition of his long service as an exemplary mentor, computer science professor Dimitris Samaras has been selected for Stony Brook University’s 2023 Outstanding Mentor Award. The award recognizes faculty mentors for their exceptional commitment to mentoring and supporting the intellectual, creative, scholarly, and professional growth of their faculty mentees. Throughout the years, Professor Samaras has been a mentor, colleague, and friend to many faculty from a number of departments.

In the award notice, Monica Bugallo, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, and Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity, said, “Thank you for all you do for our faculty, and congratulations.” Three of Samaras’ mentees shared their thoughts on what his advice and guidance has meant to them: “He has been an excellent mentor; his style of mentorship and belief in me has encouraged me to go beyond….I am grateful to have worked with him and his team over the last few years to make an impact using AI for health.” - Prateek Prasanna, Department of Biomedical Informatics “I have found Professor Samaras to be easily accessible, always willing to engage in lengthy discussions… He is easy-going and personable, and frequently organizes social events for students and faculty, bringing people together.” - Minh Hoai Nguyen, Department of Computer Science

“He knew how to push me forward. I am very grateful for his mentorship and I do not think that I could find a better mentor than Dimitris.” - Anil Yazici, Department of Civil Engineering Upon hearing of the recognition, Samaras said, “I am deeply honored! It really is about the mentees though! They are all excellent and I am proud of them!”

About Professor Samaras
Dimitris Samaras is a SUNY Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Stony Brook University. He is also the director of Computer Vision Lab and Computer Science Department. While teaching courses both to undergraduate and graduate students, Professor Samaras’ research focuses on explaining visual data for Computer Vision, Computer Graphics and Medical Image Analysis. His interest in human modeling has bridged psychology and computer science together in working on exciting projects that collect visual data about human behavior through eye-trackers and fMRI brain imaging.
-Kimberly Xiao