WEST LAFAYETTE, IN (TIP): Arvind Raman, a longtime Indian American administrator and faculty member at Purdue University has been appointed the new John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering effective April 1.
An Indian Institute of Technology Delhi graduate, Raman is currently the university’s executive associate dean of engineering and the Robert V. Adams Professor in Mechanical Engineering. He succeeds Mark Lundstrom who has served as interim dean of the college since July 1, 2022.
Raman brings an impressive record of academic leadership experience to this new role, said Patrick Wolfe, Purdue provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity, announcing his appointment on Feb 6.
“Professor Raman is passionate about the role of engineering in creating innovative solutions for people and society. We’re confident that as our next engineering dean, he will lead the college to new levels of excellence and impact,” Wolfe said.
“It is truly an honor to be selected to lead the nation’s largest top-ranked college of engineering at a university with a tremendous legacy and a record of innovation and impact on a global scale,” said Raman.
It’s an especially exciting time for Purdue and engineering, he said noting the transformative development underway for Purdue’s presence in Indianapolis and the momentum from a decade of unprecedented success and growth for engineering and across the Purdue campus.
“The College of Engineering, in partnership with our faculty, students, staff, alumni and industry partners, is poised for excellence at scale and the promise to pursue and lead truly game-changing initiatives that will impact the state, nation and world,” Raman said.
In his role as executive associate dean since December 2019, Raman has led activities aimed at recruiting excellent and diverse faculty talent, enhancing the success of faculty and staff programs, elevating the prestige of Purdue engineering, and supporting the overall quality of academic programs and faculty development, according to a university press release. He also oversaw the offices of graduate and undergraduate education. Prior, he was the inaugural associate dean for global engineering programs, where, within three years, he helped more than double the number of international experiences taken by engineering students, and established new partnerships in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Raman was named a Purdue University Faculty Scholar from 2008-12 and a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2012. He also has a courtesy professorship appointment in materials engineering.
His research interests are in nonlinear dynamics and its applications to atomic force microscopy, human biomechanics, and roll-to-roll flexible electronics manufacturing.
In addition, he is co-founder of the Shah Family Global Innovation Lab, which has supported over 30 faculty-led technology development and scale-up projects with top nongovernmental organizations for sustainable development.
He also served as director of the USAID-funded LASER (Long-term Assistance and Services for Research) PULSE (Partners for University-Led Solutions Engine) consortium, leading the five-year, $70 million program.
Through its partners Catholic Relief Services, Indiana University, Makerere University and the University of Notre Dame, LASER delivered research-driven solutions to field-sourced development challenges in USAID (United States Agency for International Development) partner countries.
Raman is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and an ASME Gustus Larson Memorial Award recipient, as well as a Keeley fellow (Oxford), College of Engineering outstanding young investigator awardee, and a National Science Foundation CAREER awardee. Through the Purdue-led nanoHUB, Raman’s atomic force microscopy simulation tools are used by thousands of researchers worldwide.
He received his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, a master’s degree, also in mechanical engineering, from Purdue and a Bachelor of Technology degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi.
Purdue’s undergraduate and graduate engineering programs are among the top 10 and top five in the country, according to the last two years of the US News and World Report college rankings. Roughly 30% of Purdue undergraduates are enrolled in the engineering college, according to the release.