9:41 a.m., Sept. 16, 2009----Anette M. Karlsson has been named chairperson of the University of Delaware's Department of Mechanical Engineering, effective Sept. 1, 2009. She had served as interim chairperson since September 2008.

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“I'm honored and excited to serve as chair,” Karlsson says. “The department is very strong, and we are moving forward with a broad range of teaching and research activities, including biomedical, clean energy and environment, composites and materials, and robotics and controls.”

“We have strong international ties,” she continues, “with most of our faculty members having active collaborations at prestigious universities and research instructions abroad. Overall, I think the Department of Mechanical Engineering is at the core of President Harker's goals and UD's Path to Prominence, and I look forward to leading my department toward these goals.”

Karlsson earned her bachelor and master of science degrees from the University of Linkoping in Sweden and her Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Prior to joining the University of Delaware in 2002, she worked for Saab Missiles as a research engineer, for the Embassy of Sweden as technical attaché of material science, and at the Princeton Materials Institute as a research associate.

Karlsson's research interests fall primarily in the areas of thermomechanical properties and response of advanced and traditional materials. Her current research includes composite structures, polymer fuel cells, thermal barrier systems, ultralight structures, and instrumented indentation.

Early in her academic career, in recognition of her outstanding efforts in these areas, Karlsson received the Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research in 2004 and the Young Scholars Award of the Francis Alison Society from the University of Delaware in 2005.

Her work has been funded by a wide array of national agencies and major industries, including the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the Army Research Office, the DuPont Company, and W. L. Gore and Associates.

“We're really pleased to have Prof. Karlsson as chairperson of our mechanical engineering department,” says Michael Chajes, dean of the College of Engineering at UD. “She has proven herself as a leader during her service as interim chair and through her activities in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, where she is the founding chair of the Multifunctional Materials Committee and currently serves as vice-chair of the Aerospace Materials and Structures Committee. I am confident that she will serve the department well as it continues to grow over the next five years.”

Article by Diane Kukich