University of Colorado at Boulder Professors John Bennett and Stein Sture have been appointed associate deans for the College of Engineering and Applied Science, effective at the start of the fall semester.
The appointments, announced by engineering Dean Robert Davis, complete the formation of the college's new leadership team. Davis began his appointment as dean of the college on July 1.
Bennett will serve as associate dean for education, providing leadership in modernization of the curriculum, student programs, initiatives for enhanced learning, program assessment and outreach. He also will manage funds for educational enhancement, evaluate faculty teaching contributions and oversee educational facilities and technologies in the college.
Sture will serve as associate dean for research, which includes assisting faculty with major proposals and initiatives, working with other campus and university initiatives in interdisciplinary research, visiting funding agencies and corporations, communicating and promoting funding opportunities to faculty and representing the college's research capabilities and interests to the community.
He also will manage research enhancement and equipment funds, evaluate faculty research contributions and oversee college research facilities.
"John and Stein bring considerable experience, vision and leadership as we work together to promote excellence in both education and research," said Davis. "Our goals are to promote faculty excellence in synergistic teaching and research, and to develop student excellence through their involvement in active learning."
James Avery, who was associate dean for academic affairs, and Melvyn Branch, who served as associate dean for research and administration, are stepping down. "I want to thank both of the outgoing associate deans for their many contributions to the college over the last few years," Davis said.
Bennett is a professor of computer science and holds a joint appointment in electrical and computer engineering. He joined the CU-Boulder faculty in 2000 after teaching at Rice University for 11 years, including four years during which he also served as master of Richardson College.
While at Rice, Bennett pioneered a course in engineering design for engineering majors as well as non-majors, which has been emulated at several other universities and high schools. He received the Keck Foundation National Award for Engineering Teaching Excellence for his work on the course. He directed a grant from the R.J.R. Reynolds Next Century School Fund for introducing advanced material in age appropriate formats to elementary schools and is a faculty mentor for CU's Faculty Teaching Excellence Program.
Sture has been a professor of civil engineering at CU-Boulder since 1980. After receiving his doctorate from the University of Colorado he served on the faculty at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for three and one-half years before returning to CU-Boulder.
Sture has served as chair of the department of civil, environmental and architectural engineering and associate director of the Center for Space Construction. His research interests are in solid mechanics, computational mechanics and geotechnical engineering and he has received more than $10 million in research funding, primarily from NASA and the National Science Foundation. Sture has received several awards including the American Society of Civil Engineer's Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize in 1990 and the Richard R. Torrens Award in 2000.