Maciejewski Accepts Role as New Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Head
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Dr. Anthony Maciejewski
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The College of Engineering is pleased to announce that Dr. Anthony A. Maciejewski has accepted the position of Head of the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. Maciejewski will assume leadership of the department on July 1, 2003.
"Tony Maciejewski is an accomplished teacher and scholar. He is a well-rounded administrator who functions at a very high level of excellence. I am extremely pleased to have a person of his stature on the team of executive officers in the College of Engineering," said Neal Gallagher, dean of the College of Engineering. "I believe that his vision for the future development of electrical and computer engineering at Colorado State will bring the research, teaching, advising and outreach programs to a new level of international prominence."
Professor Maciejewski received his B.S.E.E., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Ohio State University in 1982, 1984 and 1987, respectively. While enrolled in the graduate program, he spent a year in Tokyo as an American Electronics Association Japan Research Fellow.
In January of 1988 Maciejewski joined the faculty at Purdue University where he taught and conducted research in the analysis, simulation and control of kinematically redundant robotic systems. He came to Colorado State in 2001, where his current research focuses on how kinematic redundancy can be utilized to design failure tolerant robotic systems for remote operations. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Sandia National Laboratory, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and several internationally renowned industries. He has advised or co-advised 11 Ph.D. and four M.S. students and currently advises four Ph.D. students at Colorado State.
"As the son of immigrants, whose schooling was interrupted by the Nazi invasion of Poland, I have experienced first hand the impact that education has on a person’s quality of life," said Maciejewski. "Our American standard of living is due largely to having the finest university educational system in the world, of which CSU is a prime example. I joined the ECE department here at CSU two years ago because of the world-class research, teaching, and service being performed by its faculty. I am truly honored to be selected to lead this department as it continues its tradition of academic excellence."
Maciejewski has a solid record of commitment to undergraduate education. While at Purdue, he earned four best undergraduate teacher awards and led efforts to expand the undergraduate curriculum. These efforts include the development of a B.S. degree in computer engineering and a unique course in multilingual computing for engineering students. He also has been working to define mechanisms to address design, ethics, communication, and globalization in the undergraduate curriculum.
Maciejewski has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has served on the editorial boards of four journals. Having achieved national recognition early in his career for his research, he was named Technical Program Chair for a national conference in the field of robotics and automation. He was also named Fellow by NEC Corporation and TRW, Inc.
He has a strong record of academic leadership and has been a member or leader on various committees. At Purdue University he served on several evaluation and search committees and also served as associate deputy director of the Electrohydraulics Center.
The current department head, Professor Derek Lile, will return to his teaching and research duties after June 30.
"Derek Lile has done an outstanding job leading his department for the past ten years. It has indeed been a privilege to work with him and I look forward to continued interactions when Derek leaves administration to resume his scholarly activities."
During his term, Lile:
· Was instrumental in developing the five-year Master's in Engineering
degree program; this accelerated B.S./M.S. program is now being adopted across
the College.
· Added computer engineering to the department, thus providing the basis
for growth in academic and research programs to meet the needs of industry and
society.
· Initiated new endowed undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships
to support a wide range of ECE students.
· Organized recruiting and retention events to encourage interest in
the program.
· Developed new courses, including his own Telecommunications Networks
course.
· Worked closely with faculty to expand relationships with companies,
leading to the procurement of several large equipment gifts and renovation of
undergraduate teaching laboratories.
· Expanded the department's Industrial Associates Board to include representatives
from major corporations.
· Helped Dean Gallagher develop an information technology thrust at the
department level by recruiting faculty from top-ten departments. One of these
faculty members, H. J. Siegel, is now the Director of the University's expanding
Information Sciences and Technology Center, or ISTeC. ISTeC is a university-wide
organization focused on increasing the excellence and visibility of information
science and technology research, education and outreach activities at Colorado
State. Lile serves as ex-officio member of ISTeC. Another recent hire, Edwin
Chong, is chairing a committee to revitalize the graduate program; the ECE graduate
program is the second largest in the University.
"When I assumed this position in 1993 I believed that the most important thing that a department head can do is create and foster an environment where the faculty can thrive. One decade later I am even more convinced of this truth," said Lile. "It is the faculty who do the work and it is the faculty who generate the successes. Personally I feel very fortunate and honored to have had the privilege of serving in this role and working with such a talented and productive group of faculty and staff. In all respects this is a great department and I am convinced that in Tony's very capable hands the department will continue to grow even stronger."
Lile received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from University of Wales and his Ph.D. from University of London's Imperial College of Science and Technology. He is a senior member of IEEE and the principal investigator on research projects supported by NASA, NSF and the Office of Naval Research. Lile has graduated five M.S. and nine Ph.D. students to date; has published in over 60 journals and three books; and teaches courses in circuit theory, semiconductor devices and electronics.