Berruti Re-appointed Dean of Engineering
Franco Berruti has been re-appointed Dean of
Western Engineering for a five-year
term, July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2010.
Originally
appointed Dean in 2000, Berruti provides
leadership and strategic direction to more than 1,900 undergraduate
and graduate students and 85 faculty members in the departments of
chemical and biochemical; civil and environmental; electrical and
computer; and mechanical and materials engineering. He is a strong
promoter of multidisciplinary relationships across the University
and within the community.
Before joining Western, Berruti
was Dean of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan.
He holds both a doctoral and a
master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of
Waterloo and an undergraduate degree from the Politecnico of Torino,
Italy. He was a professor at the University of Calgary for 10 years
and Associate Dean (Research) before becoming Dean at Saskatchewan
in 1996.
A specialist in chemical reactor
engineering, Berruti’s research has focused on the areas of
fluidized bed technologies for transforming heavy oils, biomass or
waste materials into valuable chemicals or environmentally friendly
fuels. His research work, carried out in collaboration with
colleagues in the Faculty, involves a large number of graduate
students and is supported by significant research contracts with the
private sector and grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council (NSERC).
He is a licensed Professional
Engineer in Ontario and a member of the Canadian Society for
Chemical Engineering; the American Institute of Chemical Engineers;
the Chemical Institute of Canada; the Powder Technology Forum; and
the Ontario Society for Professional Engineers. He has served on
many boards and committees at Western, has published numerous
papers, book chapters and technical reports, and is asked to conduct
presentations around the world. At Western, he has also pioneered
the creation of two electronic scholarly journals in his discipline.
“Franco
Berruti is an outstanding Dean, who has strengthened Western’s
Faculty of Engineering by attracting high-quality students at both
the undergraduate and graduate levels,” says Paul Davenport,
Western’s President. “He has also led in faculty renewal with a
special emphasis on female recruitment, appointing some of the most
promising and creative new professors from Canada and abroad to
teach Engineering at Western.”
Greg Moran, Western’s Provost
and Vice-President (Academic), says, “I am very pleased at the
reappointment of Franco Berruti as Western’s Dean of Engineering.
Since taking this position in 2000, he has expanded the Faculty’s
resources and facilities, and introduced exciting curriculum
changes, including innovative new programs, co-op experiences in
industrial settings, and joint programs which enable students to
work toward degrees in Engineering combined with Business, Law,
Medicine and other disciplines.”
