Final candidates selected for dean of engineering position
Four candidates will be interviewed for the dean of engineering position at Virginia Tech, university Provost Mark McNamee announced today.
The candidates are:
=> Richard C. Benson, professor of mechanical engineering and head of the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Pennsylvania State University;
=> Robert L. Clark Jr., the Thomas Lord Professor of Engineering, senior associate dean for research, and director of the Center for Biologically Inspired Materials and Materials Systems at Duke University;
=> Jerry M. Harris, professor of geophysics and chair of the Department of Geophysics at Stanford University;
=> And William R. Knocke, the W. Curtis English Professor and head of the Charles E. Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech.
"I am quite pleased with the caliber of these candidates, all of whom have the scholarship and leadership skills to continue moving the College of Engineering forward," McNamee said.
Benson holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. Clark's Ph.D. is in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech. Harris received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. Knocke earned a Ph.D. in civil engineering at the University of Missouri.
Arrangements are being made to interview the candidates on campus during the last two weeks of March. The interview process will include an open forum for faculty and staff members. Specific dates, times, and schedules will be announced after all the arrangements are made.
