Lovell named dean of engineering at UWM

Milwaukee, Wis. - Academic research executive Michael Lovell has been named dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Lovell, now an associate dean who oversees several research centers at the University of Pittsburgh, will begin at UWM on Aug. 1. He is a researcher in the engineering field of tribology, which is the study of friction and the motion of interacting surfaces.

UWM is developing a new engineering campus to expand engineering and education research in Milwaukee, and Lowell's experience in driving research and facilties was a factor in his selection.

He now oversees the University of Pittsburgh's Institute for Advanced Energy Studies, the National Science Foundation Center for e-Design, and the Swanson Institute for Technical Excellence. During Lowell's tenure, research expenditures increased more than 63 percent, from $38 million to $62 million, and he helped coordinate the construction of a $6.1 million nanofabrication facility.

Lovell, who received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1994 from the University of Pittsburgh, also is coordinating the university's eight-year renovation project.

UWM Chancellor Carlos Santiago called Lowell “the right choice at the right time.”

Said Santiago: “I look forward to working with him to grow engineering education and research here in Milwaukee, where there is so much need.”

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