July 8, 2019

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

It was great to see Sarah Mangelsdorf, our new University president, hit the ground running on her first official day. She took a two-hour walking tour last Monday that included Rush Rhees Library, the tunnels under the Eastman Quad, and our own Hajim Quad. She donned a hard hat presented to her by the central utilities staff, and made it abundantly clear she wants to meet and hear from as many students, staff, and faculty as possible. “I don’t want to be closeted away,” she says. I’m delighted she’s here. (Read more.)

We have some important changes taking place in the administrative ranks of the Hajim School as well.

Mechanical engineering has had an incredible run the last 12 years. Each time the department has conducted a search for a new faculty member, it has landed its top choice. Prospective hires have plenty of opportunities to assess a department and talk with its faculty before making a decision, so a record like that is a pretty good indication of a strong, closely-knit department.

A lot of the credit for that goes to John Lambropoulos, who is stepping down as department chair on July 1. John has done an exemplary job during two stints as chair, totaling 18 years. He’s provided teaching and curricular support for the Archaeology, Technology, and Historical Structures (ATHS) program, which connects engineering with the humanities. He’s supported strong alliances with the Institute of Optics (serving, for example, as associate director of the Center for Freeform Optics) and with the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. He’s been a staunch advocate of study abroad. Throughout his term as department chair he has continued to excel as a teacher, earning the coveted Goergen Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching last year. And despite our growth pangs in recent years, John has remained upbeat and positive, offering good advice at our department chairs meetings. Thanks so much, John, for all of your contributions to the Mechanical Engineering department and the Hajim School!

And thanks to Renato Perucchio, who will be the new chair. Renato, the program director of ATHS, launched our successful Ghana field school three years ago – an excellent example of a faculty led program that gives undergraduates not only hands-on research but global experience as well. Renato brings a real passion to his teaching and research; he, too, has received the Goergen teaching award. He has some interesting ideas he’d like to explore: enrolling employees from local industries as part-time masters students, for example, and encouraging a strong sense of ethics in engineering students. I look forward to working with Renato.

Please join us in welcoming Tyrone Jimmison as the new executive director of advancement at the Hajim School. Tyrone joins us after serving as director for philanthropy at the University of Washington School of Medicine, a role he has held since 2015. Previously, he served as the associate director for development at The University of Texas, Austin. He also held roles in annual giving and admissions at Texas Christian University and worked in admissions at John Carroll University prior to joining TCU. Tyrone brings an accomplished record in securing major and leadership gifts, developing division strategic plans, and working with faculty and volunteer boards. As the executive director of advancement for Hajim, Tyrone will be working closely with myself and the Hajim advancement team of Derek Swanson and Donna Mura within ASE advancement.

As previously announced:

• Mujdat Cetin, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, is the new interim director of the Goergen Institute for Data Science while our search for a permanent director continues. Read more here about his desire to build a stronger sense of community with faculty.
• Paul Funkenbusch, professor of mechanical engineering, is our new associate dean for the Hajim School.
• And Danielle Benoit, associate professor of biomedical engineering, is our new director of the Materials Science program.

The top finisher in this year’s Luminate competition is a startup company with strong ties to The Institute of Optics. Ovitz, which develops individualized vision care, including a custom contact lens and proprietary software algorithms to diagnose abnormal corneas, took the $1 million top prize in the world’s largest startup accelerator program for optics, photonics, and imaging technologies. Ovitz founder and CEO Felix Kim ’14 is a graduate of the Institute of Optics, as is engineering director Nick Brown ’15. Chief scientist Yoon Geunyoung is a professor of ophthalmology and biomedical engineering at the University. The company was founded in 2012 by Kim and five other students. Read more here.