Stevens names new dean of engineering, science school

Stevens Institute of Technology has named a new dean of its Charles V. Schaefer Jr. School of Engineering & Science, it announced Thursday.Stevens Institute of Technology has named a new dean of its Charles V. Schaefer Jr. School of Engineering & Science, it announced Thursday.

Jean Zu, the chair of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto, will join the Hoboken school as of May 1, it said in a news release. Zu is a scholar of mechanical vibrations and dynamics, as well as mechatronics, the release said.

“I am thrilled that Dr. Zu will join the Stevens senior academic leadership,” Christophe Pierre, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said in a prepared statement. “As an accomplished academic administrator and a leading scholar in her field, she is poised to nurture the growth of SES and inspire collaboration across all four schools of Stevens.

“I am confident that her vision, experience, drive and commitment to excellence will position her to build upon the excellent work of our faculty, staff and students and raise the profile of the school to its full potential.”

In her new role, Zu will oversee a school that has more than 170 faculty members and eight departments, serving undergraduate and graduate students in more than 50 academic programs and majors.

She will take over for Keith Sheppard, the associate dean of engineering and science, who had been serving as interim dean since the departure of Dean Michael Bruno at the start of 2016.

“I am honored and excited to join the Stevens community as dean of the Schaefer School of Engineering & Science,” Zu said in a statement. “I am deeply impressed by Stevens and the school’s upward trajectory, momentum and student-centric, technological innovation-focused culture. I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues to develop new, innovative interdisciplinary research and programmatic opportunities.

“With its world-class faculty, impressive students, newly planned research facilities and premier location proximate to New York City, SES is poised to continue on its track of excellence.”