Dean of Engineering Joel Moses has announced the appointment of John B. Vander Sande of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering as associate dean of the School of Engineering.
Dr. Vander Sande, the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor, is a materials scientist in the broadest sense. His areas of expertise include observations of the structure of materials, particularly metals and ceramics, through the use of various forms of electron microscopy and performing research on the relation between the way in which a material is processed and the structure and properties it exhibits. Along with research on iron-based and aluminum-based alloys, he has also been deeply involved in the new high-temperature superconducting oxides discovered in 1986.
Dean Moses said that Professor Vander Sande has had considerable experience with engineering education and chaired a committee responsible for constructing and implementing the present undergraduate curriculum in his department. In addition, he has represented the department on the School of Engineering Education Committee for the past year.
Professor Vander Sande holds the bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology (1966) and the PhD in materials science from Northwestern University (1970). He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Oxford before joining MIT in 1971.
"In announcing the appointment, Dean Moses said, "I am looking forward to working with John and am particularly enthusiastic about the fresh perspective he will bring to the broad range of responsibilities in the Dean's Office."
Professor Vander Sande succeeds Professor David N. Wormley who left MIT to become dean of Engineering at Pennsylvania State University.
A version of this article appeared in the July 15, 1992 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 37, Number 1).
