NACOE Dean Search
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March 23, 2026: Open Forum: 4:00 pm: Inspiration Hall, NAH Dr. Donald Peterson
Dr. Donald Peterson is the Director of the Division of Safety Research for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) under the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton in the UK, an Adjunct Professor at West Virginia University, and a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. He served as Dean of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Northern Illinois University and as Dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Nursing at Texas A&M University in Texarkana. He was an Associate Professor of Medicine in the School of Medicine at University of Connecticut and served as the Chair of Biomedical Engineering in the School of Engineering. Dr. Peterson served as the co-Executive Director of the Biomedical Engineering Alliance and Consortium, a nonprofit trade association supporting the development and translation of new medical devices and clinical technologies. As a first-generation college student and college athlete, he received a BS from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering and in Biomedical Engineering followed by an MS in Mechanical Engineering and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Peterson’s research agenda has focused on measuring and modeling human injury biomechanics, musculoskeletal/neuromuscular disease mitigation, and human-device interaction, contributing to the design of novel medical devices, including personal protection technologies, human exoskeletons, and biosensor systems. Other recent work includes computational modeling of aneurysm and stenosis development which has contributed to early diagnosis and treatment technologies. He holds several patents and continues to advance and support translational research initiatives. Dr. Peterson’s research and applications have led to participation and nominated leadership appointments in national and international standards committees with ANSI, ISO, and ASTM, as well as participation in numerous keynotes, workshops, and panels. Dr. Peterson currently serves as the Director of Standards for the Acoustical Society of America, is the Chair of the ANSI Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for ISO / Technical Committee (TC) 108 on Mechanical Vibration, Shock, and Condition Monitoring and the Chair of ANSI Committee S2 Working Group (WG) 39 and S3 WG39 on Human Exposure to Mechanical Vibration and Shock, and was the inaugural Chair of the ASTM International Committee F48 on Exoskeletons and Exosuits. Dr. Peterson has published over 135 peer-reviewed technical papers and is the Editor-in-Chief for The Biomedical Engineering Handbook by CRC Press. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ March 24, 2026: Open Forum: 4:00 pm: NAH 149 Dr. Suzanne Shontz
Dr. Suzanne M. Shontz serves as an Associate Dean in the School of Engineering at the University of Kansas (KU); her portfolio has consisted of research, graduate programs, and online education. She is also a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and is affiliated with the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Bioengineering Program. In addition, she is the Director of the Mathematical Methods and Interdisciplinary Computing Center within the Institute for Information Sciences. Her research interests are in parallel scientific computing with an emphasis on the development of unstructured mesh and numerical optimization algorithms and their applications in engineering and medicine. Prior to joining KU in 2014, she served on the mathematics faculty at Mississippi State, the computer science faculty at Penn State, and as a postdoctoral researcher in computer science at the University of Minnesota. Shontz received a doctorate in applied mathematics and master’s degrees in applied mathematics and computer science from Cornell University and bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and chemistry from the University of Northern Iowa. Prof. Shontz received the 2024 James Corones Award in Leadership, Community Building, and Communication from the Krell Institute. She was also a recipient of the International Meshing Roundtable Fellow Award (2021), an NSF CAREER Award (2011), and an NSF Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2011). She serves on the ASEE Engineering Research Council’s Board of Directors, as Secretary of the International Council for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and on the Steering Committee for the International Meshing Roundtable. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ March 25, 2026: Open Forum: 4:00 pm: Inspiration Hall, NAH Dr. Gautam Pillay Dr. Gautam Pillay is a nationally recognized leader in research strategy, science
policy, and innovation management with over 30 years of distinguished experience across
R1 universities and U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories. He currently
serves as Associate Dean for Research at the University of Cincinnati’s College of
Engineering and Applied Science, where he has tripled external research funding and
built strategic research partnerships with federal agencies and Fortune 500 corporations.
________________________________________________________Leadership Profile
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Dear MSU Community, I am pleased to announce the launch of a national search for Montana State University’s next dean of the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering. We have formed a search committee with individuals whose backgrounds and contributions to MSU will help us identify the most qualified candidates. Will Thomas, dean of the College of Letters and Science, will chair the search committee. Julie Heard in the Office of Academic Affairs will provide administrative support. The committee members, in alphabetical order, are:
Finalists for the dean position will be invited for campus interviews and public forums during the spring semester, and I anticipate our new dean of the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering will start July 1, 2026. Throughout the search process, the committee chair will provide updates with more specific timelines and milestones. The search for our next NACOE dean is an important endeavor for the future of our university. I encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas for this position with members of the search committee so that they may incorporate your suggestions into the process. Please join me in thanking these individuals for their willingness to serve in this important undertaking. Sincerely, Dr. Robert L. Mokwa | Executive Vice President and Provost Montana State University Tel. 406-994-4371 --------------------------------------- |
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