10/19/08

Office of the Chancellor

Vedula Named Special Assistant for International Partnerships

Provost Ahmed Abdelal has announced the appointment of Chemical Engineering Prof. Krishna Vedula as special assistant for international partnerships.

The new position is designed to provide leadership for strengthening UMass Lowell’s collaborative efforts with international institutions and enhancing opportunities for students to learn and work in other cultures as part of preparing globally competent graduates. Dr. Vedula will work to create opportunities for faculty to collaborate in education and research with colleagues abroad; recruit international undergraduate and graduate students; and connect the University and urban community to the heritage of Lowell cultures and to parts of the world that are of strategic importance to the state and the nation.

"I am very pleased that Dr. Vedula has agreed to serve in this important position," Provost Abdelal said.  "He already has demonstrated his extensive abilities in this area by providing national leadership for collaboration between U.S. and Indian universities in engineering education."

Dr. Vedula is recognized globally for his contributions to engineering education, research, administration and outreach. He is internationally known for his research in processing and properties of materials for high temperature applications, with particular emphasis on powder processing and intermetallic compounds and environmental effects.

As dean of the Francis College of Engineering from 1995 to 2003, Dr. Vedula provided leadership in building unique partnerships with businesses, K-12, state agencies and other educational institutions. He was responsible for raising several millions of dollars for scholarships, endowments and facilities from private sources and for overseeing a significant improvement in the quality of students and faculty as well research and teaching facilities.  He is founder and executive chair (until recently) of  the Massachusetts STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) Collaborative aimed at increasing the number of young people interested in science and engineering careers.

He is currently the co-founder and executive director of the Indo-US Collaboration in Engineering Education (IUCEE) initiated by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). IUCEE has the objective of improving the quality and global relevance of engineering education in India and the United States.

Dr. Vedula has 25 years academic teaching and research experience in materials science and engineering, including 10 years as a faculty member at Case Western Reserve University and five years as chair of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Iowa State University.  He has B.Tech (IIT Bombay, India, 1967), M.S. (Drexel University, 1969) and Ph.D. (Michigan Tech University, 1980) degrees in materials/metallurgical engineering.