{"id":11338,"date":"2026-05-07T12:07:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T19:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/?p=11338"},"modified":"2026-05-07T12:07:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T19:07:52","slug":"new-school-of-mme-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/2026\/05\/07\/new-school-of-mme-director\/","title":{"rendered":"New School of MME Director"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dear Colleagues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am pleased to announce that Prashanta Dutta has been appointed director of the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, effective July 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prashanta has been a dedicated member of the WSU faculty since 2001, contributing more than two decades of leadership in research, education, and service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He currently serves as the Richard Schneider Jr. Professor in Mechanical and Materials Engineering and directs the NSF-sponsored NRT-LEAD program, as well as the GAANN-STAR fellowship program focused on smart technology, artificial intelligence, and robotics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An accomplished scholar and internationally recognized leader in micro, nano, and biofluidics, Prashanta has built a highly active research program supported by more than $10 million in external funding from agencies including the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and U.S. Department of Education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prashanta\u2019s contributions extend beyond research. He has advanced engineering education through innovative pedagogy and hands-on learning initiatives, and he has provided leadership in the profession through roles with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Physical Society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His accomplishments have been recognized with numerous honors, including election as a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Royal Society of Chemistry, membership in the Washington State Academy of Sciences, a Fulbright Award, the ASME Donald N. Zwiep Innovation in Education Award, and a recent WSU Office of Research Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within our college, Prashanta is known for his collaborative leadership, mentorship of students and junior faculty, and his ability to connect research, education, and industry engagement. These strengths position the school well for continued growth and impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please join me in congratulating Prashanta on this appointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also want to extend my sincere thanks to outgoing director John McCloy for his dedicated service. Under his leadership, the school advanced key strategic priorities, strengthened research capacity, and supported student success. John will return to the faculty, where he will continue his impactful teaching and research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Partha<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Partha Pratim Pande, FIEEE<\/strong>
Dean and Professor
Boeing Centennial Chair in Computer Engineering
Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture
Washington State University
Office: 509-335-5593<\/a>
Email: pande@wsu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prashanta Dutta has been appointed director of the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, effective July 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42153,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wsuwp_accessibility_report":null},"categories":[389],"tags":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11338"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11338"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11340,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11338\/revisions\/11340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11338"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=11338"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vcea.wsu.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=11338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}