Mike Timko Appointed Associate Dean of Engineering for Research, ad interim

Dear WPI Community,

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Chemical Engineering Professor Mike Timko as Associate Dean of Engineering for Research, ad interim.  The broad focus of this position will be on advancing impactful, new approaches to research development going beyond general support of faculty efforts.  Specific examples include:

• Bringing together diverse groups of faculty to pursue large-scale funding; especially identifying and creating new opportunities for cross-department and cross-school collaborations
• Piloting mechanisms for catalyzing new efforts in creative ideation toward future research directions 
• Collaborating with the Office of the Vice Provost for Research to develop new initiatives and take advantage of internal initiatives
• Expanding and strengthening industry connection
• Considering new models for career paths available to research faculty.

Mike’s work exemplifies the world-changing impact of WPI’s purpose-driven research in areas such as renewable energy, recycling, waste-to-fuel, climate tech, and sustainability.  He has already been working with other faculty to increase their effectiveness in pursuing larger-scale research grants and will be able to expand this role in the ADR position.  Mike’s presence in the engineering community is already widely known; this position will open opportunities for further visibility (such as ASEE’s Research Leadership Institute) to continue elevating the reputation of the School of Engineering and WPI.

As this is a 25% position, and governance is currently revising the process for administrative searches, this appointment is initially on an interim basis.  

Please join me in congratulating Professor Timko!

John McNeill

Bernard M. Gordon Dean, WPI School of Engineering