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University of Hawai'i |
(808) 956-8856 Telephone |
For Immediate Release: |
July 16, 1999 |
Contact: Dean O. Smith, 808 956-7486 Cheryl Ernst, 808 956-5941, ernst@hawaii.edu |
Purdue Civil Engineer Named Dean at University of Hawai'i The University of Hawai'i Board of Regents today appointed Wai-Fah Chen to be dean of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa College of Engineering, effective Sept. 1. Chen is the George E. Goodwin Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering at Purdue University. "Dr. Chen is seen as a visionary leader in his profession. He will bring a lot of energy to the College of Engineering," said UH President and UH Manoa Chancellor Kenneth P. Mortimer. "Dr. Chen was clearly the leading candidate for the position, both for his extensive background in research and professional circles and his reputation for working productively with students, faculty and administrators," added Dean O. Smith, senior vice president and executive vice chancellor of the UH Manoa campus. Chen started his academic career at Lehigh University in 1966, serving as assistant, associate and full professor. He joined the Purdue engineering faculty in 1976 and has served as head of structural engineering since 1980 and Goodwin professor since 1992. He has also held visiting professorships at Stanford University at the University at Kassel, West Germany. Chen has consulted widely on engineering projects, including the Jamuna multipurpose bridge in San Francisco, offshore structures in Texas and concrete analysis in Los Angeles and steel building stability in Chicago. He has also served as a consultant for the World Bank on Chinese University development projects. His professional affiliations include honorary membership in the American Socity of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and membership in the American Concrete Institute, International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering, American Academy of Mechanics, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and American Socity of Engineering Education. He is also a life member of the Structural Stability Research Council. Among Chen's awards are the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's U.S. Senior Scientist Award and Shortridge Hardesty Award from the ASCE's Structural Division. He has received numerous fellowships, most recently the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship for Priority-Area Research in Japan, University of Hong Kong Structural Engineering Fellowship and an honorary professorship at China's Xian Jiao Tong University. Chen holds a bachelor of science from National Cheng-Kung University,
master's in civil engineering from Lehigh University and doctorate from
Brown University. |
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