AJ Aluri

Dr. Aluri is an internationally recognized scholar, speaker, and thought leader in hospitality innovation and technology. Dr. Aluri serves on the editorial and advisory boards of top, cutting-edge hospitality and tourism journals and organizations. He has been invited to speak at several international and national shows and conferences. Dr. Aluri receives numerous awards from international, national, and state-level organizations from academia and industry. The International Hospitality Institute (IHI) recently recognized Dr. Aluri as one of the top 100 Most Powerful People in USA Hospitality and the top 25 Most Influential Educators in Hospitality. The International CHRIE awarded Dr. Aluri the "2022 McCool Breakthrough Award," given to an individual, group, program, school, college, association, or corporation that has made significant breakthroughs to introduce a unique approach in the spirit of ICHRIE's mission. He established the state-of-the-art space, Hospitality Innovation and Technology (HIT) Lab, at the John Chambers College of Business and Economics, West Virginia University (WVU). Dr. Aluri's academic and research expertise combines all areas of his education and research interests and focuses on hospitality information technology and management and information systems and how these areas impact international hospitality organizations, society, and education. His current focus is consumer behavior research regarding emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, data mining, the Internet of Things, robotics, and virtual reality. His research has been published in several top academic journals and industry outlets. Dr. Aluri is the Founding Director of the HIT Lab, a platform to bridge the gaps between academic and industry research. He incorporates real-life projects based on issues hospitality businesses face today so that students can get hands-on problem-solving experience. This is part of Dr. Aluri's teaching philosophy that students are best prepared for life after the classroom by getting real-life learning experiences with actual businesses along the way. Dr. Aluri played a vital role in developing the Hospitality program at WVU. Dr. Aluri is an Associate Professor in the Hospitality program at the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics.