Vol. 19, No. 32

May 25, 2000

Eric W. Kaler named dean of College of Engineering

Eric W. Kaler, the Elizabeth Inez Kelley Professor of Chemical Engineering and chairperson of the Department of Chemical Engineering, has been named dean of UD's College of Engineering, Provost Mel Schiavelli announced May 23. The change is effective July 1. Interim Dean Andras Z. Szeri will return to his post as Robert L. Spencer Professor of Mechanical Engineering. "Dr. Kaler brings to this new post proven leadership skills, an impressive record of research and teaching and a devoted commitment to the University of Delaware," Schiavelli said in making the announcement. "I look forward to working with him as he brings these skills to the task of leading our prestigious College of Engineering. My sincere thanks go to Dr. Szeri, who has ably guided the college for nearly two years," Schiavelli said. "It is gratifying that this excellent teacher and scholar from a premiere department has elected to accept the offer as dean of the College of Engineering," President David P. Roselle said. "I am enthusiastic about the opportunities facing the College of Engineering, as well as the potential for growth of our college programs and an increase in their impact," Kaler said. The College of Engineering with an enrollment of 1,447, including 1,011 undergraduates and 436 graduate students?has five departments: chemical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, electrical and computer engineering, materials sicence and engineering, and mechanical engineering, in addition to interdisciplinary centers for coastal research, biomedical engineering research, catalytic science and technology, composite materials and molecular and engineering thermodynamics. Research expenditures in the college exceeded $20 million in 1999. Kaler, who has chaired the Department of Chemical Engineering since 1996, conducts research on the study of thermodynamics, microstructure and materials synthesis properties of complex fluids, including micelles, microemulsions and vesicles. He also in involved in the investigation of polymerization in complex fluids, colloidal stability and surfactant phase behavior. One of the first to receive a Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation in 1984, Kaler also received the Curtis W. McGraw Research Award from the American Society of Engineering Education in 1995 and the 1998 American Chemical Society Award in Colloid or Surface Chemistry. In 1999, he served as co-chair of the Gordon Conference on Supramolecular Chemistry. The author or coauthor of approximately 150 papers and holder of seven patents, Kaler is on the editorial board of several professional journals and is co-editor-in-chief of the international journal, "Current Opinion in Colloid and Interface Science." A graduate of the California Institute of Technology, Kaler received his doctorate from the University of Minnesota in 1982. He came to UD from the University of Washington in 1989 and was a visiting professor at the Universitt of Graz in 1995. He was named UD's Elizabeth Inez Kelly Professor of Chemical Engineering in 1998.