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Christodoulou selected as next dean of School of Engineering

January 4, 2017 - By Kim Delker

University of New Mexico Acting President Chaouki Abdallah and Acting Provost Craig White announced today the appointment of Christos G. Christodoulou, a Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, as the next Jim and Ellen King Dean of Engineering and Computing at The University of New Mexico.

Christos
Christodoulou

Christodoulou will begin his term as dean on July 1. Joseph L. Cecchi, the current Jim and Ellen King Dean of Engineering and Computing, will step down June 30 after serving in the role since 2014, and before that from 2000 to 2009.

"I am very pleased to have Christos join UNM’s senior leadership team," Abdallah said. "He is a highly-accomplished scholar and distinguished professor in electrical and computer engineering, a nationally-recognized innovator in his field and most importantly, a talented administrator who cares deeply about UNM and the School of Engineering,"

Christodoulou, the current associate dean for research in the School of Engineering, was selected following a comprehensive national search that attracted some of the best national talent and involved many UNM constituents.

"I am honored to be the next dean for the School of Engineering at UNM," said Christodoulou. "I am excited about this opportunity and am looking forward to working with the School's faculty, staff, students, and alumni to continue our long tradition of commitment to excellence in research, education, diversity, and entrepreneurship. I also look forward to building on the efforts of Dean Cecchi in creating new programs, fundraising, establishing new industry and government partnerships, and enhancing the national reputation of our School."

Christodoulou has been at UNM since 1999, when he joined as a professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He led the department until 2005. He is one of the founders of UNM’s COSMIAC (Configurable Space Microsystems Innovations & Applications Center), serving as its director from 2012 to 2014.

Before coming to UNM, he was a faculty member in the University of Central Florida, Orlando, from 1985 to 1998, where he was the associate chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the director of the Engineering Honors Program.

He received both his Ph.D. and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University in 1985 and 1981, respectively, and his bachelor’s degree in physics and math from the American University in Cairo in 1979.

Christodoulou is an IEEE Fellow and has received a variety of awards and honors over the years for his work, including the 2010 IEEE John Krauss Antenna Award for his work on reconfigurable fractal antennas, the IEEE Outstanding Engineering Educator in 2012 (Albuquerque section), and has been inducted in the Alumni Hall of Fame for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University in 2016. He was appointed an IEEE AP-S Distinguished Lecturer from 2007 to 2010. He has given numerous keynote and invited talks all over the world, has published over 500 papers in journals and conferences, written 17 book chapters, co-authored eight books, and has several patents. He served as a major advisor for about 100 students and has received over $42 million in funding as a principal investigator (PI) and co-PI.