94-07-14 Richard W. Miksad Named New U.Va. Engineering School Dean

RICHARD W. MIKSAD NAMED NEW U.VA. ENGINEERING SCHOOL DEAN

       CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., July 14 -- Richard W. Miksad, an
internationally known expert on ocean and aerospace engineering,
has been appointed dean of the School of Engineering and Applied
Science at the University of Virginia, U.Va. President John T.
Casteen III announced today.
       Currently chair of the aerospace engineering and engineering
mechanics department of the University of Texas at Austin, Miksad
will assume the U.Va. deanship on Sept. 1.
       "This appointment is an important one for the engineering
school and for the Commonwealth of Virginia," Casteen said.
       "Mr. Miksad is an effective leader in engineering education
and research who appreciates the economic benefits of science and
technology.  As a scientist and active public citizen, he has
worked closely with the private sector in Texas, one of the
country's most industrial states.
       "It is also important that Mr. Miksad places great value on
increasing the number of women and minorities interested in
engineering and related careers, fields where they have long been
under-represented," Casteen said.
       Miksad succeeds Edgar A. Starke Jr., who has served as dean of
the school since 1984 and announced his plans last year to return
to teaching and research.  He joined the faculty in 1983 as a
member of the Center for Advanced Studies and will continue as
Ernest Oglesby Professor of Materials Science.
       "As financial resources become more strained we will see
public universities being asked to take on an ever-broader role in
the economic well being of the state," said Miksad. "We must be
prepared to define and fulfill this expanded role."
       "We can not just teach courses and hibernate in labs.  My view
of a dean's responsibility is to organize, cajole and lead all the
players involved -- faculty, students, staff and administrators --
to the ultimate goals, which are the superior education of students
and the generation of knowledge for the betterment of our society." 
A former program director at the National Science Foundation,
Miksad was a co-founder and associate director of the Offshore
Technology Research Center, an NSF Engineering Research Center that
has helped develop improved technologies for offshore industries.
       Miksad earned a doctorate of science in oceanography at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a master's degree in
engineering from Cornell University and a bachelor's in engineering
from Bradley University.  Before joining the University of Texas
faculty in 1974, he was affiliated with the Imperial College of
Science and Technology in London, England and the Rosenstiel School
of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences in Coral Gables, Fla.
       The author of more than 100 scientific publications, he has
served as a consultant to many private and government
organizations, most recently to major companies in the offshore
industry in the United States and abroad.
       Miksad's research, which centers on the behavior of turbulent
movements of water and air, has applications in many areas such as
pollution control, air quality, and the stability and design of
offshore platforms to withstand environmental and wave forces.  He
has been a principal or participating investigator in more than 60
research projects supported by private and government grants and
contracts.
       Also active in community affairs, Miksad has served in various
posts in local government including city council member, city
engineer, police commissioner, building inspector, fire chief and
planning and zoning commissioner.  He is an active member of
Rotary, and an assistant scout master for his local Boy Scout
troop.
       Miksad is married to Robin Walker Miksad, a graduate of
Harvard and M.I.T. who works in the Office of the Provost at the
University of Texas.  The couple has three children.     
                                           ###
                                                                           
July 14, 1994

Karen A. Castle
University News Office
kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu
(804) 924-7116


[Submitted by: Karen A. Castle  (kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu)
               Mon, 18 Jul 94 15:22:31 EDT]