FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Micah Hale, professor of civil engineering, has been selected as head of the department. Hale will begin the new position on August 15.

"I am very pleased with the selection of Dr. Hale for this important position, and I'd like to thank the search committee for facilitating this process," said John English, dean of the College of Engineering. "Dr. Hale has been exemplary in both teaching and research, and I'm confident he will lead this department to exciting new places in the future."

Micah Hale has been with the University of Arkansas since 2002. In his research, he focuses on improving the performance of concrete and developing industry standards for new types of concrete. One of his most recent projects involved finding a solution to cracking caused by a process called alkali-silica reaction, which has been compromising parts of Interstate 49 south of Fayetteville.

Hale received his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Oklahoma. He has received the George D. Nasser Award from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, the Charles and Nadine Baum Award for Teaching from the University of Arkansas, and the Outstanding Teacher Award from the Department of Civil Engineering. He is a fellow of the American Concrete Institute, and was selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering's Frontiers of Engineering Education symposium in 2010.