Leadership

Ian M. Robertson
Grainger Dean of the College of Engineering

2610 Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1691

engr-dean@engr.wisc.edu
(608) 262-3482
Fax: (608) 262-6400

In March 2013, Ian Robertson began as the ninth dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering.

Robertson, formerly Donald B. Willett professor of engineering at the University of Illinois and director of the National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research, leads a growing college with more than 5,000 undergraduates, 1,500 graduate students, and an annual budget totaling more than $200 million.

Robertson’s research focuses on how microstructure evolves in materials exposed to extreme conditions— stress, strain rate, gaseous and chemical environments and radiation—to enhance understanding of macro-scale property changes. He is author of more than 240 research publications on materials science topics and was named fellow of ASM International in 2009.

From 2011-13, Robertson was director of the Division of Materials Research for the National Science Foundation. From 2003-2009, he served as Department Head for the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois. He has been a member of the materials science faculty since 1983.

Robertson has received numerous teaching and research awards, including DOE awards for outstanding scientific accomplishment in metallurgy and ceramics (DOE Basic Energy Sciences, 1982) for contributions to our understanding of mechanisms of hydrogen embrittlement (DOE EE Fuel Cell Program, 2011), and is the 2014 recipient of the ASM Edward DeMille Campbell Memorial Lectureship.

He received his bachelor’s in applied physics, Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland in 1978; and Doctor of Metallurgy, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, in 1982.

David Noyce
Executive Associate Dean

2620 Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1691

danoyce@wisc.edu
(608) 265-1882

David A. Noyce became College of Engineering executive associate dean in June 2019. In this role, he serves as the lead associate dean and works collaboratively with the associate deans for undergraduate affairs, research and graduate affairs, research administration, advancement, and administrative and finance. His duties include leading long-range strategic planning related to administrative, financial, infrastructure and educational directions of the college. Noyce also oversees the college undergraduate program, Wendt Commons, Computer-Aided Engineering, the engineering student shops, and the college outreach efforts. Additionally, he plays a leadership role in faculty recruitment, promotion, pre- and post-tenure activities, compensation and retention.

He is the Dr. Arthur F. Hawnn Professor of Transportation Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil and environmental engineering from UW-Madison in 1984 and 1995, respectively, and received his PhD in civil (transportation) engineering from Texas A&M University in 1999. He is a registered professional engineer in Wisconsin. He also has completed coursework for an MBA degree at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Noyce has more than three decades of experience in transportation engineering, including appointments in state government, private consulting, and academia. He began his career with the Illinois Department of Transportation, then moved to the private sector in leadership positions in several consulting engineering firms. He also held positions at Texas A&M University and the Texas Transportation Institute before joining the faculty at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1999. He returned to UW-Madison in 2002 and joined the faculty in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, teaching courses on topics that include transportation engineering, geometric design, traffic engineering, transportation safety, and human factors in transportation. He served as department chair from 2015-2019, providing leadership during a period of unprecedented student, faculty, research and philanthropic growth. Under him, the department continued to be ranked as one of the top-15 (top-10 public) in the country. He is a champion for recruiting and retaining faculty, staff and students in STEM disciplines, particularly those traditionally underrepresented in engineering.

Recognized internationally for his expertise in transportation safety and operations, specifically at complex intersections, Noyce has made several significant contributions to the advancement of transportation engineering. As a principal investigator, he has completed nearly 200 research projects totaling $30 million in expenditures, and authored more than 300 refereed scholarly papers, conference proceedings, research reports, and book chapters. Among his contributions, he was the lead researcher in the development and implementation of the flashing yellow arrow permissive left-turn traffic signal indication, which is considered one of the most significant improvements in traffic signal operations and traffic safety in recent history and has been adopted by every U.S. transportation agency and implemented at thousands of signalized intersections throughout the country.

Noyce also conducts research nationally and internationally in the areas of connected and automated vehicles, leads the federally designated Wisconsin Automated Proving Grounds, and helped establish a joint research Institute with Southeast University in Nanjing, China. He is founding director of the Traffic Operations and Safety Laboratory at UW-Madison, leads the Wisconsin Driving Simulator Laboratory, and directs the UW-Madison partnership in the SAFER-SIM University Transportation Center.

Adam Whitehorse
Associate Dean/Chief Financial Officer

2620 Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706

adam.whitehorse@wisc.edu
(608) 890-4668

As associate dean for administration and chief financial officer for the College of Engineering, Whitehorse provides leadership, management and oversight of the administrative functions of the college, represents the college on campus-level policy making and policy oversight committees involving financial matters, and is responsible for assuring compliance with rules and regulations affecting financial management of college resources. As CFO, Whitehorse oversees operational areas of budget, financial management and analysis, human resources, payroll, and facilities that enable the strategic mission and goals of the college.

Whitehorse joined the College of Engineering as associate dean in 2019. Prior to 2019, Whitehorse was associate dean for administration in the UW-Madison School of Pharmacy and has more than 20 years of experience at UW-Madison managing a broad range of budget, financial and administrative responsibilities. Whitehorse holds a BBA in accounting and marketing from the Wisconsin School of Business at UW-Madison.

Chris Castro
Associate Dean for Inclusion, Equity and Diversity

2620g Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706

ccastro4@wisc.edu
(608) 263-1605

In his role as associate dean, Chris focuses on fostering a positive climate that enables the members of our college to learn, innovate, create and achieve their full potential. He collaborates with students, staff, faculty, leadership and other partners to articulate the college’s vision for and strategy in inclusion, equity and diversity. He leads creation, implementation and assessment of programs and policies to support the vision.

A nationally recognized expert in inclusive teaching, Chris joined the College of Engineering in January 2022, bringing to the college more than a decade of experience in educational development. Most recently, he directed Madison Teaching and Learning Excellence (MTLE), UW-Madison’s flagship professional development in teaching program for early-career faculty.

He serves as a facilitator and educational expert for the NSF-funded program, Aspire: National Alliance for Inclusive and Diverse STEM Faculty, a role in which he designs and facilitates professional development in inclusive teaching curricula. He has given numerous invited talks, guest lectures, and conference presentations on topics that include inclusive mentoring, inclusive teaching practices for faculty and higher ed professionals, creating and sustaining effective instructional teams and learning environments, cognitive and educational neuroscience principles for deep learning, and lifelong learning, among others.

Chris also has served as an educational impact collaborator on the NSF CAREER Award grants of nine UW-Madison recipients, many of whom are College of Engineering faculty members, and has been an expert educational consultant on the UW-Madison Virtual Brain Project.

He has more than a decade and a half of teaching experience (undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels) and administrative experience as assistant director for faculty development in the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University and as assistant to the vice president of academic affairs at San Luis Obispo Community College District/Cuesta College.

His research interests span faculty professional identity development, sense of belonging and self-efficacy regulation, and the effects of instructional interventions on student learning.

Chris holds an MA degree in theology from Azusa Pacific University (2007) and a doctorate in theology from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies (2014).

Manuela Romero
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs

2640 Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1691

mromero@wisc.edu
(608) 262-5511
Fax: (608) 265-8911

Program Affiliations

Diversity Affairs Office
Engineering Student Services

Education

• BA, 1989, Social Science, San Diego State University
• AM, 1990, Sociology, Stanford University
• PhD, 2000, Sociology, Stanford University

As associate dean for undergraduate affairs for the College of Engineering, Manuela Romero oversees undergraduate student services, including student services centers (advising), engineering student development (career services, cooperative education, and study abroad), undergraduate learning center (academic enhancement and tutoring) and diversity affairs (K-12 outreach, recruitment, retention of underrepresented populations in engineering).  She also serves as the Principal Investigator for the Pre-Engineering Education Collaborative, which is a partnership with the College of Menominee Nation; and Co-Principal Investigator of Wisconsin Alliance for Minority Participation.  Romero serves on numerous boards and chairs or co-chairs various campus-wide committees.

Dr. Romero is an applied organizational sociologist with expertise in quantitative and qualitative methods. Her academic expertise focuses on guiding organizational policies and practices to help all students succeed. She has extensive experience in research design, design and implementation of support activities and programs, program evaluation, and with manipulating large data sets. Romero earned her bachelor’s degree in social science from San Diego State University and master’s and doctoral degrees in Sociology from Stanford University.

Oliver Schmitz
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Affairs

2630 Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1691

oschmitz@wisc.edu
(608) 263-1547

Oliver Schmitz is the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Affairs. In this role he provides overall leadership for the Office of Research in the college, the mission of which is to support and grow the college research enterprise. He provides oversight to the college safety department, the Wisconsin Centers for Nano-Technology (WCNT) and the Grainger Institute for Engineering (GIE). Supporting faculty and staff in generating of new research ideas and of gaining the necessary funding for them is a major strategic goal of Schmitz in his role as research dean.

Schmitz is a professor in the Department of Engineering Physics at UW-Madison. He is an expert in high-temperature plasma physics for fusion energy applications as well as low-temperature, high-density plasma physics for next generation particle accelerators. He and his research group work on the plasma material interaction challenge and employ a specific way of high-density plasma generation by radio-frequency electromagnetic waves to design new plasma sources for particle accelerators and industrial applications. He is active in various international collaborations in these research fields. For instance, he and his group are working on near term research priorities for the ITER fusion energy experiment under construction in Southern France, the Wendelstein 7-X fusion experiment operated by the Max-Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany, the Large Helical Device at the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), Japan, and nationally on the DIII-D U.S. National Fusion Facility, La Jolla, CA, USA. He is also a full member of the AWAKE project at CERN and involved with industry projects to develop new plasma sources for industrial particle accelerators. Schmitz serves in various leadership roles in the community, as co-chair of the National Stellarator Coordinating Committee, deputy director of the U.S. Burning Plasma Organization and secretary and treasurer of the Division of Plasma Physics of APS.

Schmitz obtained his PhD in plasma physics at the Heinrich-Heine University, Duesseldorf, Germany, in 2006. He worked as a staff scientist and group leader in the Institute for Energy and Climate Research at the Juelich Research Center, Germany. He taught as adjunct faculty with Habilitation at the Heinrich-Heine University, Duesseldorf, Germany, before coming to UW-Madison in 2014. He has received the Early Career Awards of both, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation in 2015 and operates a research group that uses UW-Madison facilities and new concepts developed in his own lab as well as large-scale national and international research facilities.

Edward G. Borbely
Associate Dean for Interdisciplinary Professional Programs

709 Extension Building
432 N Lake St
Madison, WI 53706 OR

2610 Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706

borbely@wisc.edu
(608) 263-0982

Ed Borbely became associate dean for Interdisciplinary Professional Programs in summer 2019. In this role, he oversees the Office of Interdisciplinary Professional Programs. Working collaboratively with engineering academic departments, campus units and industry, he leads the development, marketing and delivery of lifelong learning opportunities, including professional and online degree programs, on-campus accelerated master’s degree programs, and non-credit programs.

Borbely’s leadership in establishing online learning capabilities, developing new interdisciplinary programs, and building relationships with faculty, academic leaders, and employers has benefitted students and communities on campus, regionally and around the globe since 1984. He has served as associate dean and executive director of graduate and professional education in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis. There, he led the development and delivery of interdisciplinary and professional programs in engineering, management, technology, healthcare, and organizational leadership for both on-campus and online students. He collaborated closely with department chairs and faculty to launch new degree and certificate programs and to increase core faculty engagement in learning design and innovation, strategic planning and implementation, curriculum development, and improved learning outcomes.

For the 21 years prior, he served in a variety of increasingly responsible roles at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he was director of the Integrative Systems and Design Division and its predecessor units, including InterPro and the Center for Professional Development in the College of Engineering. At Michigan, he spearheaded and directed all aspects of technology development for the College of Engineering’s online learning systems, enrollment services, digital marketing, operations, and the administration of many successful professional programs serving students both on-campus and online in Europe, Asia, and throughout the Americas. He also led and managed efforts to engage faculty, staff, and global client organizations to create eight successful master’s programs, including those in systems engineering and design, energy systems, and design science, and more than 100 short courses and professional development programs for working professionals throughout the world.

In addition, Borbely previously was director of off-campus education in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University in New York, where he was responsible for graduate distance education and other nontraditional programs in engineering. He was a faculty fellow with the New Jersey Department of Higher Education, leading the New Jersey Intercampus Network (NJIN) project. He also has been a consultant on telecommunications, instructional technology and methodology, and distance learning initiatives for a variety of organizations throughout the world, and has served as an executive in three successful edtech startup companies.

Borbely holds a bachelor’s degree in communication, information, and library science from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and a master’s degree from the New York University Interactive Telecommunications Program. He serves on the governing council of the International Association of Continuing Engineering Education. He also has been an active member and leader in several other professional and community organizations.

Cathleen Walters
Associate Dean for Advancement

2620 Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706

cgwalters@engr.wisc.edu
(608) 265-8021

As associate dean for advancement for the College of Engineering, Cathleen Walters oversees the college development, alumni relations, corporate relations and communications teams and is carrying out a new model for advancement developed in collaboration with UW Foundation.

With an array of experience that includes major-gift fund-raising in healthcare, academia and nonprofit settings, Walters joined the college as associate dean in fall 2013. Prior to this position, she was director of philanthropy for the Columbia St. Mary’s Foundation in Milwaukee, where she worked on a $45 million capital campaign to build a new hospital. Walters also has held development director positions with Purdue University, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the University of Pennsylvania, Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services in Watertown, Wisconsin, and Family Sharing of Ozaukee County in Grafton, Wisconsin.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from UW-Madison in 1990 and currently is pursuing a master’s degree in nonprofit administration and philanthropy from Bay Path College.

Douglass Henderson
Associate Dean for Faculty Development

2640 Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1691henderson@engr.wisc.edu

(608) 263-0808

As director of faculty development, Douglass Henderson partners with universities and initiatives across the country in efforts to recruit, mentor and retain faculty, particularly those from groups traditionally underrepresented in engineering.