The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has narrowed its search for a new dean to four finalists.
The search committee has chosen Liesl Folks, Hossein Haj-Hariri, Fotis Sotiropoulos and Joseph Hartman as the top candidates for the position.
One of these four will succeed Harvey G. Stenger Jr., who stepped down last March when he was chosen as president of Binghamton University. Rajan Batta, a professor of industrial and systems engineering, has served as the acting dean since.
The search committee, co-chaired by Venu Govidarju, a professor of computer science and engineering, and Bruce Pitman, dean of the college of arts and sciences, privately interviewed the candidates. Then between Oct. 1 and Oct. 4, the committee held a public forum where the candidates showed the UB community what their goals are for the position.
Pitman has high hopes for the future of the SEAS. He said the financial situation of UB has stabilized and the future is looking bright, so the position of dean is a highly influential one and the possibilities are numerous.
"Together with the faculty, the next dean needs to develop a vision for the School [of Engineering and Applied Sciences], and a pathway to increase the prestige and reputation for SEAS," Pitman said.
Folks is a na_notechnologist in the magnetic data storage industry in Silicon Valley. She is an internationally recognized leader in Scanning Probe Microscopy. Folks received a PhD in physics from the University of Western Australia and an MBA from Cornell University.
She said that in addition to supporting Tripathi's vision of the future, the dean should take an active role in enhancing the reputation of UB. This would attract both "higher caliber people" and funding to UB and the SEAS. She also describes herself as a "non-traditional candidate," but she believes that her 15 years of experience in the high technology industry sector can be an asset to the position.
"It is my expectation that I can leverage my experiences to bring a fresh perspective to the goals and challenges that SEAS must address," Folks said. "There is a tremendous resonance between my career experiences and skill set and President Tripathi's guiding principles, the 'Three E's:' excellence, engagement and efficiency."
Haj-Hariri is a professor and chair of the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Virginia. He received a bachelor's degree, master's degree and a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Haj-Hariri is impressed by the upper administration and planning at UB, and hopes to help improve the state of the SEAS. He believes that UB is on the right path to success. For continued success, he plans to direct the focus to large, collaborative research programs. He believes that with a successful dean, both UB and the surrounding community can benefit.
"Having spoken to a large number of potential colleagues and students, I have every confidence that the university will be moving ahead at an enviable pace," Haj-Hariri said. "A strong SEAS will help UB lead the revitalization of Buffalo."
Fotis Sotiropoulos is a professor at the University of Minnesota in mechanical and civil engineering, and he is the director of two prestigious laboratories at the university. He did his undergraduate work in mechanical engineering at the National Technological University of Athens, Greece. He received his master's from Penn State and PhD from the University of Cincinnati, both in aerospace engineering.
Sotiropoulos believes that UB and the SEAS is heading down the right path and sees UB on the verge of becoming one of the elite engineering schools in the country. As dean, he would try to grow faculty size, expand research, encourage collaboration and strive for innovation.
"My vision is to position the school in the upper echelon of engineering programs recognized by peers as a leader in 21st century education and for major contributions in tackling societal challenges of global importance through cutting-edge scholarly research, a translational research mindset and entrepreneurial spirit," Sotiropoulos said.
Hartman is a professor and chair of the department of industrial and systems engineering at the University of Florida. He did his undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois in general engineering and received his master's and PhD from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He published a textbook about one of his research interests, economic decisions analyses and dynamic programming.
President Satish Tripathi and Provost Charles Zukoski ultimately make the decision of who will become the dean of SEAS. As co-chairs, Govindaraju and Pitman will report their findings to Tripathi and Zukoski to assist with the decision.
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