Professor Karen Gleason, the Alexander and I. Michael Kasser Professor of Chemical Engineering, has been named associate dean of engineering for research, Dean Subra Suresh announced this week.
Gleason, '82, SM '82, will be the first faculty member to occupy the position, which was created in response to the strong recommendation last year from the faculty search advisory committee for the dean of engineering. In this capacity, Karen will coordinate the research activities of the school's academic units, centers, laboratories and programs and will also serve as the school's administrative contact person for interfaces with the research units administered by the Office of the Vice President for Research.
School of Engineering faculty oversee approximately $250 million of research activity each year, about three-quarters of which is administered by the school's nine academic units and 15 centers, laboratories and programs.
"I look forward to working with Karen and with the School's faculty to improve and enhance the School's research effectiveness," Suresh said.
Gleason joined the MIT faculty in 1987 in the Department of Chemical Engineering. From 2001 to 2004 she served as executive officer in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and in 2005 she was named associate director of the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology (ISN).Â
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Gleason is an internationally recognized expert in chemical vapor deposition of polymer thin films by plasma enhanced and hot-filament methods. Her pioneering research makes it possible to tailor coatings for new functionality on a wide variety of both new and traditional substrates for diverse applications. She is also an international leader in the development of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and its applications in microscopic characterization of solid-state materials.
Gleason's new appointment takes effect April 16.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on April 9, 2008 (download PDF).
