At Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting, Alec D. Gallimore was appointed as the University of Michigan’s next Dean of Engineering, effective July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2021.
“As a successful scholar, educator and administrator who has dedicated his entire career to advancing the study and profession of engineering, Alec D. Gallimore is uniquely qualified to lead the College of Engineering,” University Provost Martha Pollack said in a statement.
Gallimore is currently a tenured professor of areospace engineering, and the recipient of two named professorships: he is an Arthur F. Thurnau professor and the Richard F. and Eleanor Towner Professor of Engineering.
He will be succeeding Engineering Dean David Munson, who announced he would step down as dean in 2015. Munson began his tenure in 2006, and over the past 10 years has formed interdisciplinary collaborations with the Medical School and other schools, as well as brought about more entrepreneurship efforts. He has also aimed to unite students and faculty on North Campus through videos and Halloween parties.
Gallimore joined the University community in 1992 as an assistant professor in Aerospace Engineering. Since then, he has earned tenure in that department as well as held a joint appointment in the Applied Physics Program in LS&A. Additionally, from 2005-2011 he served as associate dean for academic programs and initiatives in the Rackham School of Graduate Studies as well as associate dean for research and graduate education in the College of Engineering.
According to a press release, his research interests include electric propulsion, plasma diagnostics, space plasma simulation, electrode physics and nano-particle energetics. In 1992, he created the Plasmadynamics and Electric Propulsion Laboratory, which has become a successful laboratory with 50 graduate alumnae incuding 36 Ph.D and 14 Master’s alumni.
His achievements have been recognized with several academic awards, including the 2002 Aerospace Engineering Award for Outstanding accomplishments. In 2005, he was awarded the University’s Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award as well as the Air Force Decoration for Meritorious Civilian Service. Gallimore’s contributions to the Air Force earned him a spot on the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board from 2001-2005.
Gallimore received his B.S. in aeronautical engineering in 1986 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, later receiving his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in aerospace engineering from Princeton in 1988 and 1992.
“I am confident that he brings the experience, energy, and demonstrated leadership to guide the college to greater visibility as a true exemplar of innovation, thus placing it in the highest echelon of institutions worldwide,” Pollack said.