Anderson named Materials Science and Engineering Chair

On July 1, Professor Peter Anderson became chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University. Prior to this appointment, Anderson served as associate chair.

“This is an exciting time for the department,” said Anderson. “We are engaged in the university’s Discovery Themes Initiative to identify strategic faculty positions, realizing research and instructional benefits from several joint faculty positions with other departments in the college, assessing the potential for major infrastructural improvements to our physical space, and exploring ways to enhance diversity and inclusion. These efforts will engage all stakeholders—students, faculty, staff, alumni, and industry.”

Anderson is a leading scholar, whose research addresses the dependence of mechanical properties of engineering materials on the structure and physical deformation processes at the crystalline and subcrystalline scales. A gifted teacher and a leader in applying new technology and new techniques to engineering teaching and learning, he is a three-time recipient of the college’s Ralph L. Boyer for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Engineering Innovation.

Anderson earned his Sc.B. degree in mechanical engineering from Brown University and his Sc.M. and Ph.D. in Applied Science and Engineering at Harvard University. He was a postdoctoral researcher at University of Cambridge, England, before joining Ohio State’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering in 1988. Since then, he has taken sabbatical or short-term research positions at NIST, Brown University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Ruhr University, among others.

“Peter has the administrative experience to be an effective advocate for the department within the college, the temperament to play a key role in the college leadership team and the experience to communicate effectively between the college and the department,” said College of Engineering David B. Williams.