January 9, 2019
From the desk of Dean Mike Bragg:
I am pleased to announce that Jim Pfaendtner, Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering and the holder of the Jagjeet and Janice Bindra Professorship, has accepted the position of Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering, effective January 1, 2019 subject to the approval of the Provost.
Jim has provided leadership in the department in various roles since 2009, and his experience and dedication to the mission and excellence of ChemE will serve the department and college well. Jim’s research is in the field of computational molecular engineering and science, focusing on the area of interfacial phenomena of biomolecules and the study of complex reacting systems. He holds multiple appointments and leadership roles on campus including Adjunct Professor of Chemistry, PNNL Senior Scientist, eScience Institute Senior Data Science Fellow, and most recently the Associate Vice Provost for Scientific Computing. I am very confident that Jim’s leadership will move the department toward even greater success in the years ahead.
I appreciate the time and effort of the search committee, Jihui Yang (Chair), Anne Fitzmaurice Adams, David Beck, Cole DeForest, Dan Schwartz, and Kim Woodrow. I would also like to thank all who shared input and opinions with the committee and me during the selection process.
Again, I would like to thank Prof. François Baneyx for his outstanding service as ChemE chair and wish him and his colleagues much success as they launch the new Center for the Science of Synthesis Across Scales (CSSAS). Please join me in welcoming Jim Pfaendtner to his new position as Chair of Chemical Engineering.
Best regards,
Michael B. Bragg, Ph.D.
Frank & Julie Jungers Dean of Engineering
College of Engineering
University of Washington