Purdue names Mark Lundstrom acting dean for College of Engineering

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University Provost Jay Akridge has announced the appointment of Mark Lundstrom as acting dean of the College of Engineering. Lundstrom will serve in the position while Dean Mung Chiang serves a one-year appointment with the U.S. Department of State.

Lundstrom is the Don and Carol Scifres Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He studies the physics of electronic devices, especially nanoscale transistors and novel devices for computing, communication, and energy conversion and storage. His team’s work has led to a widely used simple, conceptual model for nanoscale field-effect transistors and a deep understanding of electrical, thermal and electro-thermal transport from the nanoscale to the macroscale. He is the author of four books and more than 500 scientific publications. He is a life fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

“Mark Lundstrom has been a member of the Purdue Engineering faculty since finishing his Ph.D. here in 1980,” Akridge said. “He is an extraordinary researcher, educator and leader, and will continue to move the college forward while Dean Chiang serves our country with the Department of State. I know that all of those associated with the College of Engineering will continue with their tireless efforts to change the world under Mark’s leadership.”

Lundstrom was founding director of the NSF-funded Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN), a multi-university initiative with a mission to accelerate the evolution of nanoscience to nanotechnology by connecting those who develop simulations to those who use them to analyze experiments and design devices. As director of NCN, he spearheaded the creation of nanoHUB.org, which has become a global resource for nanotechnology now serving more than 1.5 million users per year. Lundstrom also has been a major contributor to nanoHUB himself. More than a half million individuals have viewed his seminars, tutorials and courses on nanoHUB.org.

Lundstrom recently co-chaired the Ideas Festival programming for the university’s 150 Years of Giant Leaps celebration and currently has a leadership role in new online and on-campus master’s degree programs in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Earlier in his career, from 1991-94, Lundstrom served as assistant dean in the College of Engineering.  His contributions to research, education and outreach have been recognized by major awards from the IEEE, the Semiconductor Industry Association, the Semiconductor Research Corporation and the American Association for Engineering Education. He is the recipient of the College of Engineering’s A. A. Potter Best of Engineering Teachers Award and Purdue’s Morrill Award, the university’s highest honor for faculty who exemplify the spirit of a land-grant university.

During his one-year leave, Chiang will serve the Department of State as the director of the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State (STAS), which was created in 2000 in response to a study by the National Academy of Sciences. Part of this office’s focus is on the impact of emerging science, technology and innovation issues on foreign policy and national security, including interactions with technology companies in key global supply chains. As the principal scientist in the State Department, Chiang will be the sixth holder of the office and the first engineer.

Writer: Tim Doty, 765-496-2571, doty2@purdue.edu  

Source: Jay Akridge, akridge@purdue.edu