James Klausner Named Chair of Michigan State University Department of Mechanical Engineering

EAST LANSING, Mich.

James Klausner has been named chair of the Michigan State University Department of Mechanical Engineering, effective Jan. 1, 2016.

“We are pleased that Professor Klausner will be joining the College of Engineering,” said MSU Engineering Dean Leo Kempel. “His academic strength and leadership skills, as well as deep understanding of the research environment nationally, will be a tremendous benefit to the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the college,” Kempel explained. “The cutting-edge education and research in Mechanical Engineering will have a profound impact for our students, MSU, the State of Michigan, and nation.”

Klausner brings distinguished and diverse experiences to MSU. He is a Newton C. Ebaugh Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida in Gainesville and is a program director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

His focus at ARPA-E includes thermal energy storage, energy efficient manufacturing, and dry cooling for thermoelectric power production. Klausner’s academic research interests include waste heat and solar driven, low temperature desalination, solar thermal energy driven synthetic fuel synthesis, heat exchangers for spacecraft, and high heat flux cooling.

Klausner said it is an exciting time to be coming to Michigan State. “MSU Engineering is on an upward trajectory, and MSU is certain to have regional, national and global impact on engineering education and research.

“While at the Department of Energy, a major initiative I pushed forward involves lightweighting the nation’s vehicle fleet with efficient and sustainable manufacturing to produce the most competitive vehicles worldwide,” Klausner continued. “There is no better place than the State of Michigan to continue to push that vision forward.”

Klausner will replace Alejandro Diaz, who served as chair of the mechanical engineering department from 2009 to 2015. Diaz is now focused on teaching, research, and service as a faculty member. Manooch Koochesfahani, associate dean for Engineering Graduate Studies and Faculty Development, is serving as the interim chair until Klausner arrives in January.

The Michigan State University College of Engineering has eight academic departments serving 5,000 undergraduate and 800 graduate students. For more on Klausner, visit: bit.ly/1IWR01a. To learn more about MSU Engineering, go to: www.egr.msu.edu.

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Michigan State University College of Engineering
Patricia Mroczek, 517-432-1303
mroczekp@egr.msu.edu