The Circuit News from the halls of academic engineering, science, and technology August 2020

Headlines

Science panel to U.S. schools: Reopen this fall RECOMMENDATIONS Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Academies of Provide masks for all teachers and Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are calling on K-12 school staff, and require all staff and administrators to reopen this fall, with priority given to students in students to wear them. kindergarten through fifth grade and to children with special needs. Make hand-washing stations or “Opening schools will benefit families beyond providing education, hand sanitizer available to all who including by supplying child care, school services, enter the building, minimize meals, and other family supports,” the organization contact with shared surfaces, and increase regular cleanings. said in a recently released report. “Without in-person Limit large groups in cafeterias and instruction, schools risk children falling behind academically and school entrances, possibly by exacerbating educational inequities.” The report recommends that staggering start times. federal and state governments help schools cover the cost of Reorganize classrooms to allow for appropriate prophylactic measures, including masks, enhanced physical distancing, perhaps by cleaning, facility upgrades, and reconfigured classes. The price tag shrinking classes or by moving to larger spaces. Consider “cohorting,” would be hefty. The report estimates that implementing the in which students stay with the recommendations would cost about $1.8 million for a school district same staff for the entire day. with eight buildings and 3,200 students. “While it will be impossible for Prioritize cleaning, ventilation, and schools to entirely eliminate the risk of COVID-19, young children in air filtration, but recognize that particular will be impacted by not having in-person learning and may they will not eliminate the risk. suffer long-term academic consequences if they fall behind as a Create a culture of health and safety, and enforce virus-mitigation result,” the group said. “In grades K-3, children are still developing the protocols through positive skills to regulate their own behavior, emotions, and attention, and reinforcement, not harsh discipline. therefore struggle with distance learning.” READ MORE Girls in Engineering Anne Mayoral, director of UC-Berkeley’s Girls in Engineering camp, leads a virtual tour of Oakland’s American Steel Studios. COVID-19 forces the organizers of STEM-focused camps to get creative Every summer, engineering and computer-science programs across the country sponsor a wide assortment of camps, workshops, and seminars designed to spark creativity among young people — including, perhaps, a few prospective enrollees. This summer, however, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the programs themselves that had to get creative: How do you capture the imagination of a sixth- grader or convince a rising high-school sophomore that his or her future lies in STEM — all without person-to-person contact? The approaches were as varied as the presenting organizations — Louisiana State University, the National Society of Black Engineers, New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering, the University of HANDS-ON Arkansas, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and Princeton University’s Center for Complex Materials, among many others. On the West Coast, Mission College and LEARNING California State University-East Bay teamed up to offer a weeklong virtual camp for Participants in UC- Latinx youngsters — VR headsets included. Some schools seemed hellbent on Berkeley’s Girls in expanding their offerings in the face of the pandemic. For the first time since its initial Engineering camp pilot phase, the University of California-Berkeley's popular Girls in Engineering (GiE) made mechanical camp was offered free of charge to all participants. ChromeBooks and WiFi hotspots hands (above) out of cardboard, tape, were provided to students who didn’t have a computer at home, and an additional and string. In the week was added to the camp. “Our decision to make the camp free stems from the civil engineering fact that the families in our target demographic are the ones most severely impacted module, campers by the COVID-19 crisis,” said Anne Mayoral, MS, GiE’s program director. By all built structures accounts, the reimagined camp was a hit. “I would give the camp 10 stars,” said (below) using only gumdrops Camila Lucero Nube, 11. “Before camp, I loved science, especially the human and toothpicks. body. I was also interested in computers, but I wasn’t sure what engineers did or if it was for me. But (now), it’s definitely something I could see myself doing.” Another school that took its first-ever virtual summer camp to new heights — quite literally — was Missouri University of Science and Technology (S&T). The high-schoolers who participated in the university’s “Space: The Final Frontier” camp designed and built small satellites using provided materials. At the end of the weeklong camp, the completed creations were sent to S&T, which plans to launch more than a dozen of the satellites some 100,000 feet into the air via a high-altitude balloon. Campers will be able to track the flight and receive images and data captured by the satellites. The “mission” is set for this month, weather permitting. READ MORE Rendering courtesy of Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center The proposed Proteus laboratory would sit 60 feet below the surface of the Caribbean, just off the island nation of Curacao. Northeastern plunges into project led by ‘aquanaut’ Fabien Cousteau Explorer and environmentalist Fabien Cousteau, the grandson of famed marine biologist Jacques- Yves Cousteau, is teaming up with Northeastern University to build what would be the world’s largest underwater laboratory. Plans call for the lab — dubbed Proteus, after an ancient Greek sea god — to be constructed near Curacao, some 60 feet below the surface of the Caribbean. “If it gets built, and I truly hope it does, it will be transformative,” said Mark Patterson, PhD, associate dean for research and graduate affairs in Northeastern’s College of Science. “It really will be like the International Space Station at the bottom of the sea.” Although its design has yet to be finalized, the facility is expected to be four times larger than any existing underwater habitat, with space for research labs, sleeping quarters, an underwater greenhouse, and a video production facility to livestream educational programming. Northeastern is one of several “strategic partners” in the endeavor. Others include Rutgers University and the Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity Foundation, a nonprofit Mark Patterson organization headquartered in Curacao. Patterson, a professor of marine and environmental sciences, and Northeastern colleague Brian Helmuth, PhD, are serving as science advisors to the Proteus project. Patterson said an envisioned lab would give researchers “the gift of time," inasmuch as divers based underwater wouldn’t have to limit the duration of their dives out of concern about decompression sickness. “If you need to be out in the water column — making your measurements, collecting the weird organisms that are there, doing engineering tasks — and you’re operating from the surface, you don’t have the luxury of time,” Patterson said. “You’re on the clock the instant you hit the water.” Patterson is well acquainted with Cousteau and his efforts to better understand the world’s oceans. Northeastern was a partner in an earlier Cousteau-led project — Mission 31, in which scientists from Northeastern, MIT, and Florida International University rotated through Aquarius, an underwater lab in the Florida Keys. Cousteau predicted that Proteus will prove “indispensable” in solving global challenges such as climate change, rising sea levels, extreme storms, and highly transmissible viruses. “The knowledge that will be uncovered underwater,” he said, “will forever change the way generations of humans live up above.” READ MORE Applied physics rejoins Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science In a move heralded as an important step in Yale University’s push to become the first institution with a comprehensive university-wide research and education program in quantum science, engineering, and materials, Yale’s Department of Applied Physics (AP) has rejoined the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS). “This is a great move for the School of Engineering and Applied Science, Applied Physics, and the university,” said SEAS Dean Jeffrey Brock, PhD. “AP is a crucial link between physics and engineering. By bringing AP back into SEAS, that link becomes even more pronounced, and collaborations will surely be all the more fruitful and better resourced.” The Department of Applied Physics, which is dedicated to seeking solutions to critical problems through the study of nature’s laws and by the application of technology, split from SEAS in a 2010 restructuring. Sohrab Ismail-Beigi, PhD, professor of applied physics, mechanical engineering, and materials science, said the focus of AP research is “near the border between science and engineering — but somewhat on the science side of the line.” The reunification of the two academic units, which officially took effect July 1, follows Yale’s announcement of plans for a new state- of-the-art building intended for quantum-science, engineering, and materials research. READ MORE

Headlines

University of Florida The University of Florida plans to build academia’s fastest supercomputer (above), thanks to a $50 million commitment from Nvidia and company co-founder Chris Malachowsky (inset), an alumnus of the school. The system is expected to be completed in early 2021. Florida, Nvidia promise to build academia’s fastest AI supercomputer The University of Florida (UF) and Nvidia have announced a $70 million public-private partnership that university officials say will “catapult UF’s research strength to address some of the world’s most formidable challenges, create unprecedented access to AI training and tools for underrepresented communities, and build momentum for transforming the future of the workforce.” The centerpiece of the collaboration is a plan to build the fastest AI supercomputer in academia. Rather than start from scratch, the partners intend to beef up UF’s existing HiPerGator supercomputer, producing a computing behemoth that delivers 700 petaflops of performance. (That’s one quadrillion floating-point operations per second, according to the online technology-news platform VentureBeat.) UF is investing $20 million in the undertaking. Nvidia co- founder Chris Malachowsky, an alumnus of the school, has pledged $25 million, and the company will supply $25 million in hardware, software, training, and service. The system is expected to be up and running early next year. The initiative also includes a commitment from UF to hire 100 faculty members focused on AI. “More than ever before in my lifetime, people around the country and the globe are looking to universities to expand access to higher education and technology and to level the field of opportunity for all,” said UF President Kent Fuchs, PhD, whose academic background is in electrical and computer engineering. “UF intends to meet that challenge, and this partnership will help us do it.” READ MORE Headlines Ten HBCUs become regional tech hubs in Apple-sponsored program Apple is expanding a fledgling partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), adding 10 HBCU regional coding centers that will serve as technology hubs: Arkansas Baptist College, Central State University, Claflin University, Dillard University, Fisk University, Lawson State Community College, Morehouse College, Prairie View A&M University, Southern University at Shreveport, and Tougaloo College. Initially, each hub will offer opportunities for students, staff, and faculty from all disciplines and majors to learn coding skills. In time, each hub will broaden its focus to include alumni, the off-campus community, and Apple nearby HBCUs. The effort is part of Apple’s Community Education Initiative, designed to For the past two years, Apple has been working with Tennessee bring coding, creativity, and workforce- State University to launch and expand the school’s HBCU C2 initiative, intended to enhance coding skills at the United States’ development opportunities to learners of all 100-plus Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). ages. “Apple is committed to working alongside Tennessee State will now serve as a national training hub. communities of color to advance educational equity,” said Lisa Jackson, MS, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives. “We see this expansion of our APPLE PLANTS SEEDS Community Education Initiative and partnership APPLE PLANTS SEEDS with HBCUs as another step toward helping OFOF OPPORTUNITY OPPORTUNITY black students realize their dreams and solve the problems of tomorrow.” Launched last year, Apple’s Community Education Initiative now extends to 24 locations across the United States — 12 of which are HBCUs and 21 of which predominately serve students of colors. Apple has been working with Tennessee State University in Nashville for the past two years to launch the school’s HBCU C2 initiative, which is expected to deliver coding and creativity experiences to more than 100 HBCUs. Tennessee State will now serve as a national training hub, imparting skills and knowledge National hub that participants will carry to a growing network 1 1TennesseeTennesseeTennessee State State State University University University NationalNational hub hub 1 RegionalRegional hubs hubs of regional hubs. “In two years, I want all Regional hubs 2 Central State University Lawson State HBCUs to be coding and creating,” said Robbie 22 CentralCentral State State University University 77 LawsonLawson State State 3 Arkansas Baptist University 8 Morehouse College Melton, PhD, dean of graduate and 33 ArkansasArkansas Baptist Baptist University University 88 MorehouseMorehouse College College professional studies at the university. “In two 4 Fisk University 9 Claflin University years, you’re going to see many more people of 44 FiskFisk University University 99 ClaflinClaflin University University 5 Southern University 10 Prairie View A&M color entering the STEM workforce — and, in 55 SouthernSouthern University University 1010 PrairiePrairie View View A&M A&M two years, we’re going to double the number of 6 Tougaloo College 11 Dillard University 66 TougalooTougaloo College College 1111 DillardDillard University University black women in technology through this program.” READ MORE

APPLE APPLE APPLE University of California System tops new ranking of innovation impact The University of California System ranks No. 1 in a first-of-its- SMALLER CAN BE BETTER kind measure of the impact that universities and research Besides identifying American higher institutions have on the U.S. economy and society in terms of education’s top overall innovators, innovation. The Innovation Impact Index, produced by the the George W. Bush Institute’s just- nonpartisan George W. Bush Institute at Southern Methodist released index ranked universities University (SMU) in Dallas and Opus Faveo Innovation and research institutions in several Development, seeks to differentiate itself from similar rankings subcategories. by measuring universities’ effectiveness in turning research spending into overall innovation output. The index weighs Larger research universities: factors such at research spending, patents, technology transfer 1. University of Florida agreements, spinout companies, paper citations, and STEM 2. University of Utah graduates. The University of Texas System ranked second 3. California Institute of Technology overall, followed by MIT, the University of Washington, the 4. University of Chicago University of Michigan, the University of Florida, Columbia 5. North Carolina State University University, the University of Minnesota, Stanford University, and Mid-sized research universities: the University of Pennsylvania. The Innovation Impact Index 1. Drexel University also ranks institutions in several subcategories: larger research 2. University of New Mexico universities, mid-sized research universities, small research 3. Princeton University universities, pure medical schools, and pure research/healthcare 4. Carnegie Mellon University institutions (see adjacent listing). “Universities play an important 5. University of Central Florida role in fostering innovation in communities across the country, and that innovation drives economic growth and rising levels of Smaller research universities: prosperity,” said the report’s co-auther, J.H. Cullum Clark, PhD, 1. Brigham Young University director of the Bush Institute and an adjunct professor of 2. University of Wisconsin System economics at SMU. Clark said the innovation is particularly 3. Northern Illinois University important as society struggles to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. 4. Duquesne University “Now more than ever, institutions that build competitive research 5. Creighton University operations around life science, biotechnology, and other vital Pure medical schools: STEM fields are an essential driver of America’s economic 1. University of North Texas Health growth and pandemic recovery," he said. “The (index) can be a Science Center helpful tool for policymakers, university leaders, and business 2. Georgia Health Sciences leaders on how they can leverage these contributions to

University advance their communities.” A report accompanying the 3. Medical University of South rankings advises universities to prioritize research; hire the best Carolina global talent; build efficient and productive technology-transfer 4. Mayo Foundation for Medical operations; and instill a strong culture of innovation and Education and Research entrepreneurship. The report urges policymakers to boost 5. Baylor College of Medicine public-sector support for university research and technology Pure research/healthcare transfer; to focus on attracting and developing scientific and institutes: technical talent; and to invest in integrated physical spaces that 1. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory connect researchers with entrepreneurs, investors, and other 2. Whitehead Institute for potential nonacademic partners. “Our research demonstrates Biomedical Research that innovation-impact productivity is not necessarily tied to the 3. Jackson Laboratory biggest or best-known schools,” said Christian Blackwell, co- 4. Hospital for Special Surgery author and managing director of Dallas-based Opus Faveo 5. The Wistar Institute Venture Development. “By focusing on productivity, even smaller universities can have a large impact.” READ MORE Innovators podcast

“Prognosis for higher education in a post-pandemic world”

Santa J. Ono, PhD President and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia

RECENT INNOVATORS PODCASTS “Building good health: Biomedical engineering comes of age,” featuring Ajit Yoganathan, PhD, Regents’ Professor and the Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Faculty Chair in Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology LISTEN “STEM learning: The foundation of a 21st century workforce,” featuring Mónica Fernandez Bugallo , PhD, professor of electrical and computer engineering and associate dean for diversity and outreach, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Stony Brook University LISTEN “Building elegant technological solutions to complex scientific problems,” featuring Lesa B. Roe, MS, chancellor of the University of North Texas System LISTEN “Tearing down walls — one relationship at a time,” featuring Raquel Tamez, JD, CEO of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers LISTEN “One Health: the other universal healthcare,” featuring Michael D. Lairmore, DVM, PhD, dean of the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine LISTEN “World class: attracting international students to U.S. engineering program,” featuring Leo Kempel, PhD, dean of the College of Engineering at Michigan State University LISTEN “The importance of partnerships in academia and healthcare,” featuring Charles Taylor, PharmD, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at the University of North Texas LISTEN Transition

Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou, PhD, professor of finance and dean of the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University since 2015, has been appointed the 10th dean of Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, effective October 15. Bajeux-Besnainou said she is looking forward to working “at the intersection of business, analytics, and technology.” Bajeux-Besnainou’s doctorate was in mathematics applied to finance.

Michelle L. Baxter, MBA, has been appointed chair and professor of air, space, and cyberspace studies at New York’s Clarkson University. Her responsibilities at Clarkson will include recruiting, educating, and training Air Force ROTC cadets in preparation for active-duty service as commissioned officers. Most recently, Baxter, an Air Force lieutenant colonel, was commander of the 60th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Travis Air Force Base in California.

Jonathan Beddoes, PhD, dean of the University of Manitoba’s Price Faculty of Engineering since 2011 and dean of the university’s Faculty of Architecture since 2015, retired at the end of June. During his tenure, Beddoes, a mechanical engineer and metallurgist by training, chaired more than 50 searches, oversaw the opening of the $28 million Stanley Pauley Engineering Building, and increased enrollment in the Price Faculty of Engineering by 60 percent.

Duane Bedell, MS, tribal manager for Michigan’s Bay Mills Indian Community for the past two years, has been appointed president of Michigan’s Bay Mills Community College. Bedell previously spent 10 yeas as chair of the college’s Computer Information Systems Department. He began his teaching career at the school in 2002, working as an adjunct instructor. Bedell is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan.

Teresita M. Bellido, PhD, has been appointed professor and chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. She

began her career at Arkansas in 1993 as a research assistant in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism. Bellido was most recently a tenured professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Hong-Ray Cho, PhD, a Korean-born Catholic priest and a computer scientist by training, has been selected to serve as rector of the College Seminary of the Immaculate Conception at St. Andrew’s Hall in Newark, New Jersey. The appointment was effective August 1. In his new role, Cho, who has two computer science degrees and a doctorate in mathematics, will be responsible for directing the undergraduate seminary of the Archdiocese of Newark.

Mun Choi, PhD, president of the University of Missouri (UM) System since 2017 and interim chancellor of UM-Columbia since March, will now hold both posts, thanks to the UM Board of Curators’ unanimous vote to merge the two posts. Choi formerly taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago, chaired the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Drexel University, and served as dean of engineering, provost, and executive vice president at the University of Connecticut.

Danny Dale, PhD, a longtime faculty member in the University of Wyoming (UW) Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been named interim dean of UW’s College of Arts and Sciences. Dale joined UW in 2001 as a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He served as department head for nine years — from 2008 to 2017 — and became an associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 2018. Dale will serve until a new dean is appointed. Brian Ernsting, PhD, has been named vice president for academic affairs at Rivier University in Nashua, New Hampshire. Ernsting previously served as vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty at Iowa’s Wartburg College, where he led the implementation of programs in public health and engineering, and as assistant vice president for academic affairs, assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and biology professor at the University of Evansville.

Songlin Fei, PhD, a professor of quantitative ecology in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University’s College of Agriculture, has been named the Dean’s Chair of Remote Sensing. Fei is the creator and director of Purdue’s Integrated Digital Forestry (iDiF) group, which features researchers from agriculture, engineering, computer science, aviation technology, information science, and other fields. Fei joined Purdue’s faculty in 2011.

Anthony Finkelstein, PhD, chief scientific adviser for national security to the British government since 2015, has been appointed president of City, University of London. Finkelstein will assume his new responsibilities next June. Before entering government, Finkelstein was dean of the University College London Faculty of Engineering Sciences and head of the institution’s computer science program. His research is based at the Alan Turing Institute.

Alejandro “Alex” Frangi, PhD, has been named inaugural joint director (with David Jayne, MD) of the Centre of Responsive HealthTech Innovation at the University of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Frangi joined Leeds in 2018 as Diamond Jubilee Chair in Computational Medicine with joint appointments in the School of Computing and the School of Medicine. In 2019, he was awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies.

Robin L. Garrell, PhD, has begun her tenure as president of the City University of New York’s Graduate Center. Garrell, whose academic background is in biochemistry and engineering, started August 1. She was most recently vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate Division at UCLA. At the Graduate Center, located in midtown Manhattan, Garrell will lead a program boasting more than 3,500 students in 31 doctoral and 16 master’s programs.

Adam Godzik, PhD, a professor of biomedical sciences at the University of California- Riverside School of Medicine, has been named the Bruce D. and Nancy B. Varner Presidential Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at the university. Before joining UC-Riverside in 2018, the physicist-turned-cancer researcher was affiliated with the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in La Jolla, which conducts biological research benefitting human health.

David Goodlett, PhD, has been named the Don and Eleanor Rix BC Leadership Chair in Biomedical and Environmental Proteomics at Canada’s University of Victoria. Goodlett has spent the past seven years at the University of Maryland-Baltimore — as a professor of microbial pathogenesis in the dental school and as the Isaac E. Emerson Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Goodlett is widely recognized for his use of mass spectrometry in research.

Saji Gopinath, PhD, director of the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K), has been appointed first vice chancellor of Kerala University of Digital Sciences Innovation and Technology. The newly constituted university, which formerly operated as IIITM-K, comprises five schools: Computing; Electronics Design and Automation; Informatics; Digital BioScience; and Digital Humanities. Madhusudhan “Madhu” Govindaraju, PhD, professor, associate chair, and graduate director in the Department of Computer Science at Binghamton University, has been named vice provost for international education and global affairs. He assumed his new responsibilities June 1. In his new role, Govindaraju will oversee international recruitment efforts, as well as provide guidance and oversight to the International Student and Scholar Services Office.

Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr., MS, a retired Air Force lieutenant general, has been named president of Texas’ Angelo State, effective August 14. Hawkins’ 37-year career with the Air Force culminated in his service as director of the Defense Information Systems Agency at Fort Meade, Maryland, a $10.2 billion operation employing 14,000 people. Hawkins, who possesses three master’s degrees, earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Angelo State in 1977.

Michael Heagy, PhD, has been named head of the School of Chemistry and Materials Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). He assumed his new duties July 1. Heagy most recently taught at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, where he began his academic career as an assistant professor in 1996 and became chair of the Department of Chemistry in 2016. At RIT, Heagy succeeds Paul Craig, PhD, who returns to teaching this fall.

Wendi Heinzelman, PhD, has been appointed to a second five-year term as dean of the University of Rochester’s Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Under her leadership, the school has significantly increased research funding and added new initiatives in data science, high-energy-density physics, and virtual and augmented reality. Heinzelman, who joined the school in 2001, is also a professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Luis Hernandez, MBA, has been named vice president for information resources at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). In his new role, Hernandez will oversee the departments of Enterprise Computing, Telecommunication Infrastructure, and Technology Support, as well as the Information Security Office. Hernandez, a two-time graduate of UTEP, most recently served as the university’s assistant vice president for enterprise computing.

Benjamin Z. Houlton, PhD, director of the John Muir Institute of the Environment and professor of global environmental studies at the University of California-Davis, has been named the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Houlton, whose five-year appointment is effective October 1, will be a professor in two departments: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Global Development.

Michael S. Hsiao, PhD, professor of engineering education in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been appointed the W.S. “Pete” White Chair for Innovation in Engineering Education. Hsiao formerly held leadership positions at Digital Equipment Corporation, National Semiconductor Corporation, NEC USA, and Intel Corp., as well as Rutgers University. Hsaio is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Daren Hubbard, PhD, chief information officer and associate vice president for computing and information technology at Wayne State University in Detroit, has been named chief information officer and vice president for information technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Hubbard will assume his new responsibilities September 8. Before joining Wayne State in 1999, Hubbard facilitated research projects at the University of Michigan. Mike Husak, PhD, professor of biology at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, has been appointed chair of the university’s Department of Agriculture, Biology, and Health Sciences. He assumed his new duties August 1. Husak, who joined Cameron’s faculty in 2003, was presented with the university’s Hackler Award for Teaching Excellence in 2011 and voted Professor of the Year by biological sciences students in 2006.

Susan James, PhD, a professor of mechanical engineering at Colorado State University (CSU), has been named vice provost for faculty affairs. She assumed her new duties July 6. James, an authority on polymeric materials used in biomedical engineering, joined CSU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering an assistant professor in 1994 and then served as head of the unit from 2010 to 2018. She is also founding director of the School of Biomedical Engineering.

Jonathan Jefferson, PhD, has been appointed chief academic officer and provost at Lesley University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jefferson, who was named interim provost in June, has an academic background in management, industrial engineering, and mathematics. Jefferson previously chaired the Business Management Division, which he joined in 2015. He formerly served as dean of Clark Atlanta University’s School of Business Administration.

Paul E. Jensen, PhD, has been named executive vice president and Nina Henderson Provost at Drexel University. He had been serving in an interim capacity since last fall. Jensen joined Drexel’s faculty in 1997 and became dean of the university’s LeBow College of Business in 2018. Before entering the academy, Jensen, who holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, worked as an engineer in the power generation division of General Electric.

Kevin Kregel, PhD, executive vice provost and senior associate provost for faculty at the University of Iowa since July 2019, has been named the university’s interim provost. The appointment will last for at least two years. Kregel, whose background is in physiology and biophysics, joined Iowa's faculty in 1993. He was executive officer in the Department of Health and Human Physiology prior to his appointment as associate provost for faculty in 2014.

N. Suzanne Lang, PhD, associate dean for faculty and administrative affairs and director of faculty development in Michigan State University’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, has been named interim associate provost and associate vice president for academic human resources. Lang is a horticulturist specializing plant physiology. Before joining Michigan State’s faculty in 2000, she taught at Washington State University and Louisiana State University.

Kay Latham, PhD, has been named dean for STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine) diversity and inclusion at Australia’s RMIT University, formerly known as the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Melbourne Technical College. Latham joined RMIT in 2013 as an associate professor and later became a professor of inorganic and materials chemistry. From 2014 to 2016, she was president of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.

Hyoung K. Lee, PhD, has been named chair of the University of New Mexico’s Department of Nuclear Engineering, effective August 1. Lee was most recently at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (S&T), where he was a professor in the Department of Mining and Nuclear Engineering, chair of the nuclear engineering program, and director of the school’s nuclear reactor. Before joining S&T in 2009, he worked in industry and academia in Korea. Troy LeMaile-Stovall, MBA, chief operating officer at the University of the District of Columbia and head of a management consulting firm, has been named chief operating officer of TEDCO, a state-backed agency in Maryland that supports early-stage tech companies. He starts his new job September 7. LeMaile-Stovall, an engineer by training, previously served as a senior vice

president at Howard University and Jackson State University, respectively.

Thomas Lippert, PhD, head of the Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Germany’s oldest supercomputing operation, has been named inaugural chair for modular supercomputing and quantum computing at the Institute for Computer Science at Goethe University in Frankfurt. Since 2004, Lippert has been a professor of computational theoretical physics at the University of Wuppertal. He also will be a senior fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies.

Patricia Marsteller, PhD, a professor of practice in biology and associate dean of undergraduate research and scholarship at Emory University, has retired, ending a 30-year career devoted to promoting the STEM fields to traditionally underrepresented students. Hired in 1990 as the first director of the Emory Howard Hughes Medical Institute Initiative, Marsteller went on to serve as longtime director of the Emory College Center for Science Education.

Janet McShane, PhD, chair of the Department of Mathematics at Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York, has been named interim dean of the School of Science. Before joining Manhattan in 2014, McShane was at Northern Arizona University, where she held various administrative posts, including chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, director of the Center for Science Teaching and Learning, and director of the NAUTeach program.

Mario Medina, PhD, associate professor of civil, environmental, and architectural engineering at the University of Kansas (KU) School of Engineering, has been named associate dean for academic affairs. Medina, a mechanical engineer by training, joined KU’s Architectural Engineering Department in 1998. When that department merged with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2001, Medina moved to the School of Engineering.

Sara R. Morris, PhD, has been named vice president for academic affairs at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. She had been serving on an interim basis since July 2019. Morris joined Canisius in 1996 as an assistant professor of biology, subsequently rising through the ranks to become full professor, coordinator of the college’s Environmental Science Program, and co-chair of the Biology Department. She also established the Science Scholars Program at Canisius.

Anastasia "Stacy" Morrone, PhD, associate vice president of learning technologies with the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology at Indiana University (IU), has been appointed interim dean of the IU School of Education in Bloomington. Morrone, who joined IU in 1997, directed the Center for Teaching and Learning at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) from 2002 to 2006. She has been dean of IT at IUPUI since 2012.

Roy Parker, PhD, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder, has been appointed the second director of the university’s decade-old BioFrontiers Institute, an interdisciplinary hub for bioscience research. The institute’s founding director, Nobel Laureate Tom Cech, PhD, will remain on campus to continue research. Parker, a pioneer in the study of messenger RNA, joined Colorado’s faculty in 2012 as the Cech-Leinwand Chair of biochemistry. Philip R.O. Payne, PhD, director of the Institute for Informatics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named associate dean for health information and data science, as well as chief data scientist for the School of Medicine. Payne, also the Janet and Bernard Becker Professor, will oversee a comprehensive data enterprise that supports

the School of Medicine’s research, education, and clinical-care missions.

Arlie Petters, PhD, has been appointed provost at New York University Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates, effective September 1. Petters is currently the Benjamin Powell Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and a professor of physics and economics at Duke University, where he has taught since 1998. Before joining Duke, Petters was as an assistant professor of mathematics at Princeton University and an instructor of pure mathematics at MIT.

Barry Pittendrigh, PhD, an MSU Foundation Professor at Michigan State University, has been appointed the Osmun Endowed Chair in Urban Entomology at Purdue University. Pittendrigh is a widely recognized authority on insect genetics and genomics, with a research focus on the genetics of pesticide resistance. Before joining Michigan State’s faculty in 2016, he held a chair in insect toxicology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and taught at Purdue.

Govindan Rangarajan, PhD, has been named director of the 111-year-old Indian Institute of Science (IISc). He moved into his new role July 31. Previously, Rangarajan served as chair of the IISc’s Division of Interdisciplinary Research, which comprises 10 departments and centers. Rangarajan, who earned his doctorate at the University of Maryland at College Park, formerly worked at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.

Gene E. Robinson, PhD, director of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has been named interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, effective July 24. Besides heading the institute, Robinson serves as the Swanlund Chair in Entomology in the School of Integrative Biology, as the Center for Advanced Study Professor in Entomology and Neuroscience, and as director of the Bee Research Facility.

Kathy R. Sturgeon, MAE, dean of math, sciences, and health professions at Illinois’ Danville Area Community College (DACC) since 2010, has been appointed interim vice president of academic affairs. Sturgeon, whose appointment took effect July 1, succeeded Dave Kietzmann, who retired at the end of June after 50 years with the school. Sturgeon, who joined DACC’s faculty in 1989, teaches primarily in the areas of physics and mathematics.

Camillo Jose Taylor, PhD, the Raymond S. Markowitz President’s Distinguished Professor of Computer and Information Science in the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, has been named the school’s inaugural associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion. “As engineers,” Dean Vijay Kumar, PhD, said in announcing the new post, “in our quest to solve problems, we must each learn to accept when we have failed in order to advance.”

Michael P. Wellman, PhD, associate dean for academic affairs in the University of Michigan College of Engineering since 2016, has been named chair of the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) division. Pending approval by the Board of Regents, he will begin a three-

year term this fall. A member of CSE’s faculty for 28 years, Wellman was formerly the division’s associate chair (2007-2009) and director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (2001-2005). Our headlines

A just-released report suggests that schools should appoint chief health officers to focus exclusively on COVID-19 and other threats to campus wellbeing Harris Search Associates recruits Talitha Washington, PhD, as director of the Data Science Institute Initiative at the Atlanta University Center Consortium University at Buffalo enlists Harris Search Associates to guide the search for a director of the school’s Institute for Computational Data Sciences Harris Search Associates recruits John M.M. Anderson, PhD, to lead the College of Engineering and Architecture at Howard University University of North Texas Health Science Center taps Harris Search Associates to lead the search for its next associate dean for academic affairs

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I love computers and machines, but I love people and emotional connection even more. Since emotions “are the main driving force for humans, I feel the best way to interweave humans and machines on a deeper level is to make machines capable of understanding and emulating humans.”

— Shreya Gupta, who just received a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Southern California, explaining her new job as lead data scientist at a Los Angeles-based startup that’s working to create chatbots that can “empathize” with humans HarrisSearch.com

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