New Faculty
Eleven exceptional new faculty members join the College this academic year. We highlight three here. Meet all eleven.
Cecilia Aragon
Human Centered Design & Engineering
Adjunct: Computer Science & Engineering and Information School
Cecilia Aragon has been a staff scientist in the Computational Research Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2005. Her research focuses on scientist-computer interaction, particularly how social media and computer-mediated communication are changing scientific practice. Other interests include computer-supported cooperative work, visualization, visual analytics, image processing, machine learning, cyberinfrastructure, and astrophysics. Aragon received the 2008 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. She is a founding member of Latinas in Computing. She earned her doctorate at UC-Berkeley.
Hugh Hillhouse
Chemical Engineering
Hugh Hillhouse comes from the School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University. He holds an adjunct appointment at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and is on the Editorial Advisory Board for Chemistry of Materials. Hillhouse works on molecular and nanoscale science and engineering for renewable energy technologies. He studies the fundamentals of molecular self-assembly of nanostructured films, and the development of new tools for x-ray scattering analysis of nanomaterials and of highly ordered arrays of semi-conductor quantum wires for high-efficiency solar cells. Among his honors are a National Science Foundation Career Award. He earned his MS in chemical engineering at UW (‘96) and his PhD from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Joshua Smith
Computer Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering
Joshua Smith joins the faculty in winter 2011 from Intel Research Seattle, where he was a principal investigator. He recently was an affiliate assistant professor in CSE and EE. Smith's research interests include inventing new sensor systems, devising new ways to power them, and developing algorithms for using them. The research has application for ubiquitous computing, robotics (including novel sensors for robotic manipulation), and human computer interaction. Smith earned his doctorate in media arts and sciences at MIT and an MA in physics and theoretical physics at University of Cambridge.
Rising Higher
Lidstrom Now #2 at UW
Mary Lidstrom recently became interim provost, filling the role Phyllis Wise left when the Board of Regents tapped her to serve as interim president following the departure of Mark Emmert.
A professor of chemical engineering and microbiology, Lidstrom holds the Frank Jungers Endowed Chair in Engineering and has been the vice provost for research since 2005.
Previously she was Engineering's associate dean for new initiatives. As the university's chief academic and budgetary officer, she will provide leadership in educational and curriculum development, long-range strategic planning, and management of research programs.
New Chairs for AA & ME
Two UW Engineering alums from the class of 1977 who earned their doctorates at California Institute of Technology now share yet another bond in recent promotion to chair a department.
Professor Jim Hermanson, associate chair of Aeronautics & Astronautics since January 2009, succeeds Adam Bruckner. His research interests are fluid dynamics, including compressible flow, combustion, and multi-phase flow.
Professor Per Reinhall succeeds Mark Tuttle in Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include studying vibrations in diverse structures and devices, plus a new focus on fuel cells.