Mei Wei was announced on Friday as Ohio University’s next dean of the Russ College of Engineering after years of experience in the field.
As dean of the Russ College, Wei will have responsibilities on both OU’s Athens campus and regional campuses. Her job will include overseeing the Russ College’s academics and research and training facilities, according to an OU press release.
Wei currently serves as assistant dean of Research and Graduate Education in the School of Engineering at the University of Connecticut. She has also served as director of General Electric Center of Excellence in Advanced Materials and Modeling at UConn since 2013 and director of the Master’s of Engineering in Global Entrepreneurship Program since 2018.
Apart from administrative and dean’s work, Wei is a professor within the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UConn. She has also taught at one of UConn’s branch campuses, UConn Health, as a visiting professor in the School of Dental Medicine.
According to the release, Wei is also a co-founder and chief scientist for OrteoPoniX LLC, which is a biomedical device company that focuses on biomaterial development for bone and cartilage repair and regeneration.
“I am pleased to have such an outstanding scholar and proven administrator to lead our Russ College as we build on its tradition of excellence,” OU President Duane Nellis said in the release. “Dr. Wei’s practical and academic experience will be invaluable to the Russ College and Ohio University.”
Wei’s knowledge of engineering and the sciences draws from a worldly education. She has a Ph.D. and an M.Eng. in materials science and engineering from the University of New South Wales in Australia and a B.E. in metallurgy materials and engineering from Shenyang University of Technology in China.
She also completed postdoctoral research fellowships with the Centre for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering at Queensland University of Technology in Australia and with the Division of Materials Engineering at Kyoto University in Japan, according to the release.
Wei will start her new position on July 15.
Dennis Irwin is the current dean for the Russ College. Irwin served as the dean since 2002 and announced his retirement last October. Irwin agreed to extend his term until July 14 after announcing his retirement.
He is credited with overseeing the $124 million donation to the Russ College from Fritz and Dolores Russ and helping develop the school’s doctoral program for civil engineering.
