New Dean of Engineering
To: Executive Vice Presidents, Chancellors, Vice Presidents, Vice Chancellors, Vice Provosts, Deans, Directors and Heads of Schools, Divisions, Departments and Offices
From: Patrick Wolfe, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity
RE: New Dean of Engineering
Date: February 6, 2023
I am pleased to inform you that Arvind Raman, Purdue’s executive associate dean of engineering and the Robert V. Adams Professor in Mechanical Engineering, has accepted our offer and will become the dean of the College of Engineering, effective April 1.
Having joined Purdue’s College of Engineering in 2000, Arvind brings an impressive record of academic leadership experience, and we’re confident that he will lead the College to new levels of excellence and impact.
Raman succeeds Mark Lundstrom, the Don and Carol Scifres Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who has served as interim dean of the college since July 1, 2022. After April 1, Lundstrom will continue to lead the semiconductors activities across Purdue and its representation in statewide efforts as a senior advisor to the president and chief semiconductor officer.
Raman and Julie Swann, the A. Doug Allison Distinguished Professor and department head of the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at North Carolina State University, were the two finalists selected by the university’s search advisory committee to make on-campus presentations and hold Q&A sessions the week of Jan. 16.
Out of many strong applicants, the search committee first interviewed 10 semifinalists in December, including a sitting provost, senior associate deans of top engineering colleges, and heads of large departments in AAU universities.
In his role as executive associate dean since December 2019, Raman has led activities aimed at recruiting excellent and diverse faculty talent, enhancing the success of faculty and staff programs, elevating the prestige of Purdue engineering, and supporting the overall quality of academic programs and faculty development. He also oversaw the offices of graduate and undergraduate education. Prior, he was the inaugural associate dean for global engineering programs, where, within three years, he helped more than double the number of international experiences taken by engineering students, and established new partnerships in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Raman is an ASME fellow, an ASME Gustus Larson Memorial Award recipient, Keeley fellow (Oxford), College of Engineering outstanding young investigator awardee, and an NSF CAREER awardee. Raman joined Purdue as an Assistant Professor following a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue, and a B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
I want to thank the members of the search advisory committee, co-chaired by Sasha Boltasseva, the Ron and Dotty Garven Tonjes Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Dan DeLaurentis, vice president for research institutes and centers in Discovery Park District at Purdue and professor of aeronautics and astronautics.
Please join me in thanking the search advisory committee for their time, energy and thoughtful consideration. I know you will also join me in congratulating Arvind Raman on his appointment as dean of the College of Engineering.