School of Engineering Dean Search Advisory Committee appointed

Provost L. Rafael Reif sent the following letter this week to the MIT Faculty:

To Members of the MIT Faculty,

As you know, last June President Obama nominated Professor Subra Suresh, dean of MIT’s School of Engineering, to serve as director of the National Science Foundation; the nomination currently awaits confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Dean Suresh has provided exceptional leadership to the School of Engineering, and I know he would provide the same kind of outstanding service to the National Science Foundation.

If confirmed, Dean Suresh will step down immediately as Dean of Engineering. Accordingly, I am appointing a Dean Search Advisory Committee to assist me in identifying a possible successor. Professor Jeffrey H. Shapiro (Julius A. Stratton Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Director of the Research Laboratory of Electronics) has graciously agreed to chair this committee, composed of the following professors:

• Olivier L. de Weck, Engineering Systems and Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Paula T. Hammond, Executive Officer and Bayer Professor of Chemical Engineering
• Anette E. Hosoi, Mechanical Engineering
• Ian H. Hutchinson, Nuclear Science and Engineering
• Tomas Lozano-Perez, School of Engineering Professor in Teaching Excellence, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Scott R. Manalis, Biological and Mechanical Engineering
• Martin F. Polz, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Caroline A. Ross, Toyota Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
• Michael S. Triantafyllou, Associate Head for Ocean Engineering, William I. Koch Professor of Marine Technology, Mechanical Engineering
• Sheila E. Widnall, Institute Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems
• Maria Zuber, Department Head and E. A. Griswold Professor, Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences.

The committee members will begin work immediately. Their first action will be to solicit input from across the Institute. To facilitate communications, the committee has established an email address, soedeansearch10@mit.edu, and welcomes comments and suggestions from any interested parties. All communications will be treated as confidential.

I am very grateful to Jeffrey Shapiro and his committee colleagues for their willingness to serve MIT in this extremely important role.

Best regards,

L. Rafael Reif