DeVries becomes dean of engineering and IT at UMBC

Last month, former National Science Foundation official and Iowa State University department chair Warren R. DeVries began his tenure as the new dean of Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

DeVries, an ASME Fellow and former Board of Governors member, is recognized as a leader in the drive for excellence in U.S. engineering education as well as a pioneer in manufacturing processes and systems research. Since 2002, he has served as division director for the NSF's Division of Design and Manufacturing Innovation, where he led a staff of 15 and managed an annual budget of $65 million. DeVries came to the NSF on assignment from Iowa State University, where he was a professor and chair of the mechanical engineering department.

Warren R. DeVries

DeVries, whose initial responsibilities at the NSF included work with the Small Business Innovation Research program, said that he would like to use his experience to spur innovation through education, research, and industry partnerships, especially with small or start-up technology-based firms.

"I'd like to work with faculty and staff building on UMBC's reputation for integration of education and research covering the whole spectrum of innovation, from discovery of new knowledge and creativity to that first commercial step of small technology businesses," DeVries said.

"This isn't only important for the economic vitality of Maryland and the nation, but because knowledge and people are key to the research-education-innovation cycle it's part of the university's mission," DeVries added. "Students benefit, too, since according to NSF data, the largest fraction of science and engineering graduates today, about 36 percent, are employed by small technology-based firms."

Another of DeVries' priorities will be giving students a multidisciplinary education that prepares them to be competitive in today's global economy.

In addition to being a member of the Iowa State faculty, DeVries also held faculty positions at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has authored or co-authored numerous technical papers and two textbooks, and has taught graduate and undergraduate courses. He received his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and also received a Bachelor of Science degree in letters and engineering from Calvin College.

DeVries served on the ASME Board of Governors from 1999-2002, and as the Society's senior vice president for engineering from 1990-99. He also served on the board of directors and was president of the North American Manufacturing Research Institution of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). He is a Fellow of both ASME and the SME.

DeVries replaces Shlomo Carmi, who served as dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology and professor of mechanical engineering at UMBC since 1996. Carmi, who was ASME's senior vice president for engineering education from 2003-06, will continue to serve UMBC as a member of the mechanical engineering faculty.

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