Four distinguished finalists for NDSU’s vice president for research and creative activities will come to campus for interviews and to present public forums during April. The selection committee, chaired by Kalpana Katti, University Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering, is seeking the successor to Philip Boudjouk.
“We are pleased to have four excellent finalists for this important leadership position at NDSU,” said Katti. “Each of our finalists is highly qualified, and I encourage the campus community to come to their open forums to hear their visions for the future of research and creative activities at NDSU.”
Daryush Ila
The first visit will be April 14-16 by Daryush Ila, associate vice chancellor for research at Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, N.C. Ila’s public forum is scheduled for Monday, April 15, at 2 p.m. in the Memorial Union Century Theater.
Prior to joining Fayetteville State University in 2011, Ila was executive director of Alabama Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCOR) and executive director of the Alabama A&M University Research Institute. His vita lists 244 publications, 12 books, two book chapters and 57 invited, keynote or plenary speeches.
According to his vita, Ila has received more than $78 million in grants and contracts as a program director or principal investigator and more than $80 million in grants and contracts as a co-investigator. Ila also lists membership on the Department of Defense Independent Assessment Committee and the National Science Foundation Master’s Degree Program Evaluation Advisory Committee.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in physics at Tehran University, master’s degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and doctorate in condensed matter physics from the University of Massachusetts.
Kelly A. Rusch
Kelly A. Rusch, Dow Chemical Distinguished Professor in Engineering Diversity at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, will make a campus visit April 16-18. Her open forum is scheduled for Wednesday, April 17, at 2 p.m. in the Memorial Union Century Theater.
Rusch, who joined the LSU faculty in 1992, was the Donald W. Clayton Professor in the College of Engineering from 2009-2012, and was interim chair of the Department of Construction Management and Industrial Engineering in 2012. She also is the sole proprietor of Alviron Consulting LLC, and has been a technical consultant for aquacultural engineering, algae and zooplankton systems. She holds two patents.
Rusch is a founding member of the Women in Engineering Leadership Institute and past president of the Aquacultural Engineering Society. Her vita includes three book chapters, 58 refereed journal articles and 28 refereed proceedings, along with 119 scientific and educational talks and 46 invited talks and lectures.
She earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, and her master’s degree and doctorate in civil engineering with emphasis on environmental engineering at LSU.
Parag R. Chitnis
Parag R. Chitnis, director of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences at the National Science Foundation, Arlington, Va., is set to visit NDSU April 21-23. His open forum is scheduled Monday, April 22, at 2 p.m. in the Memorial Union Century Theater.
Chitnis directs 30 staff members at the NSF Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, with an annual budget of about $125 million in research grants. He has worked in the division since 2000, also serving as deputy director, program director and visiting program director. He previously was a faculty member at Iowa State University and Kansas State University.
His vita includes more than 100 peer reviewed and invited articles, and invited research presentations at 46 universities and conferences.
Chitnis earned his bachelor’s degree at Konkan Agricultural University, Dapoli, India; his master’s degree in genetics and biochemistry at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi; and his doctorate in biology from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Satyendra Kumar
Satyendra Kumar, associate vice president for research and sponsored programs and professor of physics at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, is scheduled to visit the NDSU campus April 28-30, His open forum is set for Monday, April 29, at 2 p.m. in the Memorial Union Century Theater.
Kumar, who joined Kent State in 1987, is past president of the International Liquid Crystal Society. He chaired the 16th International Liquid Crystal Conference in 1996 and the spring 2001 meeting of the Ohio Section of the American Physical Society.
Kumar, who studies the structure of new, novel liquid crystals and flow properties, has 17 patents that have been awarded or filed noted on his vita; 61 keynote plenary or invited talks, about 190 publications and more than 200 conference presentations.
He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Panjab University, Chandigarh, India; master’s degree in physics from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln; and a doctorate in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
More information on the candidates is available at www.ndsu.edu/research/press_room/VPsearch2013.html.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.
