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SMU names Nader Jalili Dean of Lyle School of Engineering

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SMU names Nader Jalili Dean of Lyle School of Engineering

Postby AfricanMustang » Tue Jan 17, 2023 10:43 am

DALLAS (SMU) – SMU has named Nader Jalili dean of Lyle School of Engineering. Currently professor and head of mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama, Jalili is an innovative leader and researcher, known for bringing the resources of engineering education and research to undergraduate and graduate students, industry partners and community outreach programs.

He will join SMU on March 1, 2023.

“Engineering is a profession dedicated to problem-solving, and Dr. Jalili is well-positioned to help the Lyle School of Engineering increase its role in meeting the challenges of our rapidly-developing world,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. “We look forward to his leadership at this important time in SMU’s development as a premier university.”

In his four and a half years as head of mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama, Jalili led a significant increase in external research awards and enrollment as well as the creation of the Alabama Initiative on Manufacturing Development and Education, designed to better prepare future highly skilled workers through a convergence of education, research and service. The Alabama Initiative has guided multiple research projects in the core areas of automation, human-robot collaboration/integration and augmentation and has partnered with numerous outreach programs to promote new career paths for middle and high school students in the region.

“The Lyle School of Engineering aspires to increase its long-standing premier status in the region and to raise its national profile,” said Elizabeth G. Loboa, SMU provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Campus stakeholders valued Dr. Jalili’s career accomplishments in research and entrepreneurship, student success and leadership and enthusiastically received his short- and long-term vision for the Lyle school.

“Lyle has a dedicated executive board, faculty and staff who have for years fostered a culture of engineering excellence and innovation,” Loboa said. “Under Dean Jalili’s leadership, we are well-positioned to advance Lyle’s reputation both within the academy and industry and to expand our impact in line with SMU’s aspirations for even greater academic excellence.”

Before joining the University of Alabama, Jalili led the Northeastern Piezoactive Systems Laboratory at Northeastern University in Boston, which was formed in 2010 to model and study micro nano-electromechanical sensors and actuators. He later became associate department chair for graduate studies and research, where he facilitated the creation of several new degree programs in areas such as mechatronics, robotics and human-machine interface, while leading graduate student recruitment and admission and overseeing department research activities.

After completing his graduate education and serving briefly as a visiting professor at Northern Illinois University in 1999, Jalili joined Clemson University in 2000, where he helped create an industry mindset graduate program in automotive engineering at Clemson. The program has since become the main component of a major research and educational center in the Southeast, known for creating a global research and economic development venue for the automotive industry.

An active researcher, Jalili has been PI or Co-PI on more than $17 million in external funding, including grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Defense in the domain of vibration, control and robotic-based manufacturing.

He is the author or co-author of more than 350 peer-refereed technical publications, including 135 journal papers, two textbooks, five book chapters and two U.S. patents. A fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Jalili has chaired numerous society committees and edited several engineering academic journals. In addition, he is the recipient of more than 30 international, national and institutional awards for his research, leadership, teaching and service.

Jalili received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran, and his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut.

“The Lyle School of Engineering has unmatched potential to lead superior quality research and education programs as well as to prepare students to become leaders and innovators in solving the rapidly challenging problems of the 21st century,” Jalili said. “I look forward to the opportunity to bring my seasoned experience to help SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering advance to become one of the most innovative engineering schools, known for producing engineers who are agile, technically strong, multidisciplinary and capable of innovations to lead and develop solutions to meet society’s needs.”

https://www.smu.edu/News/Featured/smu-n ... ngineering
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Re: SMU names Nader Jalili Dean of Lyle School of Engineerin

Postby tristatecoog » Tue Jan 17, 2023 10:31 pm

Seems like a solid hire. Lots of research. Alabama has beefed up its engineering program and MechE was a top choice. He’s also an innovator and fund raiser.
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Re: SMU names Nader Jalili Dean of Lyle School of Engineerin

Postby Mustangs_Maroons » Mon Feb 06, 2023 3:35 pm

While I don't know much about engineering rankings, USNews has the University of Alabama ranked 116 among engineering schools. SMU is 121. This sounds like another underwhelming hire by Turner and his administration. We have to strive to do better. Maybe there's no interest in SMU? I'm not sure sure, I'd have to think there would have been strong interest at the Cox School and the last hire was underwhelming. Can't we hire an associate dean from a much higher ranking school that knows what it takes to get the school higher ranked? This is a guy that was at a similar-ranked program and wasn't event the top guy there.
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Re: SMU names Nader Jalili Dean of Lyle School of Engineerin

Postby laxdawg97 » Tue Feb 07, 2023 1:48 pm

Mustangs_Maroons wrote:While I don't know much about engineering rankings, USNews has the University of Alabama ranked 116 among engineering schools. SMU is 121. This sounds like another underwhelming hire by Turner and his administration. We have to strive to do better. Maybe there's no interest in SMU? I'm not sure sure, I'd have to think there would have been strong interest at the Cox School and the last hire was underwhelming. Can't we hire an associate dean from a much higher ranking school that knows what it takes to get the school higher ranked? This is a guy that was at a similar-ranked program and wasn't event the top guy there.

Recent trends indicate candidates are not looking at SMU either as a place to build a long career, or as a springboard to top jobs at top tier institutions. You can't discount uncertainty over Turner's future, what sort of leader may follow, and just how messy the selection and transition can get when a president/chancellor has been place so long. Last I heard, candidates who asked those questions were not getting all of the specifics they'd hoped for.

On top of that, heavy demands to raise funds from alumni perceived as very conservative is a unappealing to admins who are anxious about the politicization of higher ed. And, as with FL, many simply promising academic leaders aren't willing to move to a state they view - fairly or not - as an overflowing cauldron of regressive values. Untapped local resources are appealing on paper, but the answers to why the potential has remained unrealized for so long don't seem to outweigh the risks and downsides.
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Re: SMU names Nader Jalili Dean of Lyle School of Engineerin

Postby deucetz » Wed Feb 08, 2023 11:32 am

I would argue it's that SMU doesn't have a good reputation for research and put enough resources into Lyle. Rice would have a lot of the same issues that you present beyond the long tenure of the president. The Engineering school has not leveraged its location well and kept the school small.

Just a quick glance, Rice has a 2021 Ph.D. student-faculty ratio is 5.2:1. 139 Full-time faculty and 1,258 students.

SMU has a 2021 Ph.D. student-faculty ratio is 1.6:1.57 full-time faculty and 221 students.
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Re: SMU names Nader Jalili Dean of Lyle School of Engineerin

Postby TwoTimeGrad » Fri Feb 10, 2023 9:08 am

The candidates generally perceived the school as a growth opportunity. Most of that growth comes from research dollars (supporting our quest for R1), and enrollment. The administration followed through on it's promise to do a nationwide search.
Last edited by TwoTimeGrad on Mon Mar 20, 2023 3:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: SMU names Nader Jalili Dean of Lyle School of Engineerin

Postby tristatecoog » Tue Feb 14, 2023 10:49 pm

Lots of SMU deans have moved on to bigger roles.
In recent years…Rhodes, Hendrix, Clarkson and USF presidents

Dr Elizabeth Laboa (SMU provost) is odds on favorite to be next SMU president. Not sure about fund raising but she has academic chops and was previously Missou’s engineering Dean.

UT McCombs Dean and Rice president — down the hall hires
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Re: SMU names Nader Jalili Dean of Lyle School of Engineerin

Postby AfricanMustang » Wed Feb 15, 2023 12:19 am

tristatecoog wrote:Lots of SMU deans have moved on to bigger roles.
In recent years…Rhodes, Hendrix, Clarkson and USF presidents

Dr Elizabeth Laboa (SMU provost) is odds on favorite to be next SMU president. Not sure about fund raising but she has academic chops and was previously Missou’s engineering Dean.

UT McCombs Dean and Rice president — down the hall hires


Yep! Clarkson University, Rhodes College, University of South Florida, Wheelock College, Goucher College, Hendrix College, University of Tulsa (Botched), Franklin College In Switzerland in the recent years.
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Re: SMU names Nader Jalili Dean of Lyle School of Engineerin

Postby TwoTimeGrad » Wed May 03, 2023 12:34 pm

Paul Krueger, the interim Lyle Dean was name Dean of UNT's Engineering School on April 6th.
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