UCLA Engineering: UCLA Engineer Spring 2003

Vijay K. Dhir Appointed Dean of UCLA's Samueli School of Engineering

Vijay K. Dhir, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has been named dean of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. Dhir, who joined the UCLA faculty in 1974, most recently served as interim dean of the School.

Regarding the appointment, Dhir said he was honored to have been selected.

"It is a privilege to serve in this capacity at the school where I started my academic career," Dhir noted. "With its excellent student body, faculty, and staff, the School will continue to play a leading role in research, education, and service to the community and nation."

Dhir was born in Punjab, India and earned his undergraduate and master's degrees there before receiving his PhD in mechanical engineering at the University of Kentucky in 1972.

In the late 1960s he worked in industry, and for the past 30 years has been a consultant for numerous companies and federal research laboratories.

Dhir served as associate dean for academic and faculty issues, and as chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from 1994 to 2000.

When he made the announcement, UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale expressed his confidence that "under [Dhir's] leadership the School will continue to rise in performance and stature for many years to come."

Dhir is a former assistant editor of Applied Mechanics Review. He also was an associate editor of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Journal of Heat Transfer before becoming a senior technical editor in 2000. Dhir received ASME's Heat Transfer Memorial Award in 1992 and the Donald Q. Kern Award from AIChE in 1999.

For more on Dhir's research, please visit http://boiling.seas.ucla.edu/boiling/.

Todd Cheney, UCLA Photography.