EAST LANSING — Leo Kempel, who has been acting dean of the Michigan State University College of Engineering since 2013, has been recommended as full-time dean of the college he has served for more than 16 years.
His appointment is subject to approval by the MSU Board of Trustees. If approved, it would be effective as of July 1.
“Dr. Kempel will assume the role of dean at a time of enormous possibility for the College of Engineering,” said MSU Provost June Youatt. “Several of the university’s most significant opportunities for leadership in research and innovation will be closely tied to the work of the college. I am confident Leo can quickly work with college and campus leaders to craft a plan that strategically sets the college’s direction for growth.”
Kempel has been a faculty member in the MSU Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering since 1998. He was associate dean for research from 2008 until his appointment as acting dean. During this period, the college demonstrated unprecedented growth in the research enterprise.
He has been instrumental in the development of a number of college and university projects, including the University Research Organization, the Revolutionary Materials for Solid State Energy Conversion, and the BEACON NSF Science and Technology Center.
His research has focused in applied electromagnetics, with particular emphasis on conformal antennas, engineered materials and measurement of electromagnetic properties of materials.
He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society. He is currently appointed to the IEEE Fellow Board.
Kempel received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1989, a master’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1990, and a doctorate from the University of Michigan in 1994.
Kempel succeeds Satish Udpa, who now serves as MSU executive vice president for administrative services.
The MSU College of Engineering has six academic departments serving 4,400 undergraduate and 600 graduate students through 10 undergraduate and nine graduate degree programs. More at www.egr.msu.edu.