Nachtmann Returns to Engineering as Associate Dean for Research

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Heather Nachtmann

Heather Nachtmann, senior associate vice chancellor for research and innovation, has been re-named associate dean for research in the College of Engineering. She will begin her new role Aug. 1.

As associate dean, Nachtmann will support the goals of the dean of engineering by supervising the college's research and graduate missions to promote and advance scholarship, facilitate multidisciplinary research activities and articulate and implement the research vision for the college.

"Heather was the first to serve in this role and served admirably for more than five years," said Dean Kim Needy. "Her contributions were numerous, and we look forward to having her back to lead the college's research mission at this critical juncture in our university's history."

As senior associate vice chancellor for research and innovation since Nov. 1, 2020, Nachtmann made important contributions to the Division of Research and Innovation. She helped improve operational efficiency and supported an organizational restructuring and relocation for the division. In addition, she worked with the Project One team to improve the principal investigator interface in Workday and led the search for the incoming director of sponsored programs. She also helped create the new Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research.

Nachtmann's service and research endeavors have generated significant accolades throughout her tenure with the College of Engineering. She was elected as a 2019-2020 U of A Chancellor's Academic Fellow. She received the 2018 Wellington Award from Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers and the 2019 Sarchet Award from the American Society for Engineering Management.

Nachtmann is a fellow in the American Society for Engineering Management and the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers. Her recent service activities include president of the American Society for Engineering Management, member on the Advisory Council for Transportation Research for the Arkansas Department of Transportation, member of the Engineering Research Council of the American Society for Engineering Education and editor-in-chief of The Engineering Economist journal.

Nachtmann holds the Earl J. and Lillian P. Dyess Endowed Chair in Engineering and is a professor of industrial engineering. She serves as the director of the Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center (martrec.uark.edu) and the Mack-Blackwell Transportation Center.

Nachtmann received her bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. in industrial engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. She has been with the College of Engineering since 2000, starting as an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.