I am pleased to announce that, on Friday, May 13, 2016, the Board of Governors approved the appointment of Dr. J. Fraser Forbes as dean of the Faculty of Engineering. He will commence his five year term on July 1, 2016.
Fraser has been a member of the University of Alberta community for the last 20 years. While here, he has held a number of positions, including professor, associate chair, and chair of the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering. Over the last twelve months, he has led the Faculty of Engineering as interim dean.
With a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from McMaster University, Dr. Forbes’s research has focused on optimization, control, and modelling for industrial operations. He has worked extensively in the areas of: distributed optimization systems, post-optimality analysis, and real-time optimization; distributed parameter systems, benefits analysis, and controller design; and industrial model development for the purpose of controller evaluation and design.
Chief among his various administrative accomplishments stands his 13-year leadership as chair of the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering. Under his leadership, two of Canada’s key energy research centres were created: the Imperial Oil Institute for Oil Sands Innovation (IOSI) and the Canadian Centre for Clean Coal/Carbon and Mineral Processing Technologies (C5MPT). These two centres, which received start-up funding from government and stakeholders totalling roughly $81 million, have fostered leading research and innovation in the clean, sustainable and efficient development of energy and mineral resources. He also led the establishment of the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Oil Sands Molecular Engineering, five new NSERC Industrial Research Chairs, and seven new Canada Research Chairs. During his tenure, 41 new faculty member were recruited to the department.
Fraser has also played an integral part in revising the materials undergraduate program, and has overseen an increase in enrollment in his department by 250 per cent for graduate students and 60 per cent for undergraduate students. Enrollment in the undergraduate materials engineering program grew by 200 per cent.
His other administrative efforts have included contributions to Chairs Council Executive and the President’s Advisory Council of Chairs. From 2004 to 2007, he served as the chair and co-chair of these groups, and collaborated with his peers from across the institution to provide input and advice regarding the university’s policies and processes.
As the interim dean, Fraser led the faculty through the move of three departments to the new Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering, and has begun the process of rebuilding the Faculty of Engineering office. He has also embarked on the development of a planning process to create a capital project plan for the next ten years.
Fraser’s leadership will undoubtedly move the U of A and the Faculty of Engineering forward, and it’s for this reason that I hope you will join me in welcoming Fraser Forbes to his new role as dean of the Faculty of Engineering.
I wish to thank the members of the Dean Selection Committee for their hard work and commitment and to thank all of you who participated in the selection process.
Steven Dew
Provost and Vice-President (Academic)