College of Engineering Dean Candidates to Hold Forums

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The three final candidates for dean of the University of Arkansas College of Engineering will visit campus over the next three weeks for interviews and public forums. The interviews will be in Bell Engineering, Room 273.

The candidates are Kim Needy of the University of Arkansas, Mohammad Kiani of Temple University and John English of Kansas State University.

Kim Needy holds the Twenty-First Century Professorship in Engineering and is currently head of the department of industrial engineering at the University of Arkansas. She will make an open forum presentation at 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14, in the Bell Engineering, Room 273.

Needy received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and earned a doctorate in industrial engineering from Wichita State University. Before coming to the University of Arkansas in 2008, she was an assistant and then an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Before beginning her academic career, Needy worked in industry for over a decade, and her resume includes positions with PPG Industries Inc. and the Boeing Company. Needy is a fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineeers and the American Society for Engineering Management. She is currently serving as the president-elect of the Institute of Industrial Engineers. Needy’s research interests include engineering management, sustainability and supply chain optimization.

Mohammad Kiani, chair of the department of mechanical engineering at Temple University, will visit campus on Jan. 17 and 18. He will hold an open forum at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, in Bell Engineering, Room 273.

Kiani holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Oklahoma and a master’s degree and doctorate in biomedical engineering from Louisiana Tech University. In addition to his position as chair of mechanical engineering, Kiani also serves as a professor in the department of bioengineering and the department of radiation oncology at Temple University. Previously, Kiani held positions as assistant, associate and professor at the University of Tennessee. He has also served as an established investigator for the American Heart Association and has founded two small businesses, MedVas Concepts and POSoft, and a non-profit organization, Engineering World Health. Kiani has two patents and numerous publications in the field of biomedical engineering and is co-author of the book The Bionic Human. Kiani is a fellow of the American Heart Association.

John English, dean of the College of Engineering at Kansas State University, will hold an open forum at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22, in Bell Engineering, Room 273.

English received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in operations research from the University of Arkansas. He holds a doctorate in industrial engineering and management from Oklahoma State University. English holds the LeRoy C. and Aileen H. Paslay Chair in Engineering at Kansas State. He has served as head of the department of industrial engineering at the University of Arkansas, was the founding director of the Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution and director of the GENESIS Technology Incubator. He has also worked as an assistant professor at Texas A&M University and has industry experience from a career at AT&T. English has published numerous articles and book chapters in the field of logistics and material handling. He is a fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers.

“The University of Arkansas is pleased to have such outstanding candidates for this position,” said Provost Sharon Gaber. “It will be difficult to choose among them, but I am confident that the next dean of engineering will lead the college and the university to exciting new places.”

For more information on the College of Engineering Dean Search, go to http://www.engr.uark.edu//home/4882.php