Ajay Nahata, professor of electrical and computer engineering at
the University of Utah, has been named the College of Engineering’s
Associate Dean for Academics effective March 1, 2013.
Nahata’s research interests include terahertz optoelectronics,
plasmonics, metamaterials, nanophotonics, nanofabrication, nonlinear
optics and ultrafast optics. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from
Columbia.
Prior to joining the U, Nahata worked at Allied Signal and NEC
Laboratories, and was a visiting researcher at Princeton. He served as
associate chair of the ECE department, and is currently the associate
director of the College’s MRSEC on next-generation materials for
plasmonics and organic spintronics.
“I am certain that Ajay will effectively carry out the responsibilities
of his new role, and will bring many good ideas to the College,” says
Richard Brown, dean of the College of Engineering.
Visit Ajay Nahata’s faculty page.
Nahata will be replacing chemical engineering professor Milind Deo, who
served as Associate Dean for Academics for nearly seven years. Deo will
become chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the end of
this semester after current chair JoAnn Lighty completes her service.
“Milind is a model faculty member, who has continued to be among the
top teachers in the College while running a large and successful
research program and very effectively managing the academic issues in
the College,” says Brown. “He has been a wonderful partner in the dean’s
office, and has had significant impact for good college-wide. Among
Milind’s many accomplishments is the new engineering math sequence,
which I believe will do more for student retention than any other single
thing, while better preparing our students for their major courses.”