May 26, 2009

Professor Jean W. Zu has been appointed Chair of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering for a five-year term beginning July 1, 2009.

Professor  Zu joined the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in 1994 after receiving her BSc and MSc degrees from Tsinghua University and her PhD from the University of Manitoba. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 1999 and to full Professor in 2004.

She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), and the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering (CSME). She served as President of the CSME from 2006-2008, on the NSERC Grant Selection Committee from 2004-2007, and currently serves as the Associate Editor of the ASME Journal of Vibrations and Acoustics. She has authored 90 refereed publications and over 110 conference papers.

From 2007-2008, Professor Zu represented Mechanical and Industrial Engineering on the Faculty Honours and Awards Committee. Since June 2008, she has served as Associate Chair, Research in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. In this role, she has mentored junior faculty in the art of writing successful research proposals and applications and in establishing industrial collaborations. She has also worked to foster an environment of collaboration among researchers in the Department in an effort to promote interdisciplinary, team-based grant applications and projects, including the establishment of a research partnership between the Department, the Faculty and Magna International Inc.

Professor Tony Sinclair’s term as Chair of MIE ends June 30, 2009.