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New director, department chairs in BYU's College of Engineering and Technology

August 02, 2012

The Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology at Brigham Young University has announced a new director of the School of Technology along with the appointment of two new department chairs.

Former School of Technology director Val Hawks has been replaced by Richard Fry and in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Brent Nelson will replace Michael Jensen. In the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Rollin Hotchkisss will replace Steven Benzley.

Benzley has retired, and Hawks and Jensen are on leave. Hawks will serve as a mission president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hong Kong, and Jensen will take a one-year leave starting Sept. 1 before returning to teaching and research in elecrical engineering.

Fry studied at BYU earning his undergraduate degree in industrial design. He then went on to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and received his MFA in industrial design. He has worked in both the corporate and consulting spheres allocating time to the home appliance, personal fitness, exhibit and aerospace industries. He has been teaching at BYU since 2000, and served as the chair of the industrial design program from 2003-2008. His appointment as director began May 1.

Nelson received his doctorate in computer science from the University of Utah. He serves as co-director for the NSF Center for Reconfigurable High Performance Computing (CHREC), and is actively involved in the international and globalization activities within the college. He created the college’s Globalization Study Abroad program in 2007. His appointment as department chair began June 1.

Hotchkiss began his appointment May 1. After earning a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from BYU, he went on to receive a master's degree from Utah State University and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota, both in civil engineering. He was named president-eect of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) in 2009. He was also named the Outstanding Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Teacher at BYU in 2008 and 2009 as voted on by students.

For more information, contact Melissa Oldham at 801-422-4315.

Writer: Melissa Oldham

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