ME alumnus tapped to head NY environmental center

Edward Bogucz, who received a B.S. and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Lehigh in 1978 and 1984, has been named the first executive director of the New York state-designated Center of Excellence in Environmental Systems (CoE-ES) at Syracuse University.

Bogucz has served as dean of SU's L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science since 1995, and has coordinated CoE-ES since its inception in June 2002.

The CoE-ES, a consortium of Syracuse University and 11 other universities and research institutions, conducts research to develop new technologies related to the quality of indoor environments and urban ecosystems. The technologies are commercialized by industrial partners and members of the New York Indoor Environmental Quality Center.

The CoE-ES has been awarded more than $37 million in state grants and $20 million in federal grants in just over a year.

"Once again, Ed Bogucz has stepped up when needed," said Syracuse Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw. "He agreed to accept a very challenging assignment as dean eight years ago and now is taking on another challenge - one of utmost importance to the university, the region and the state. "

Ben Ware, SU's vice president for research and computing, gave Bogucz credit for the vision that led to the launching of the CoE-ES last year.

"Our entire effort in indoor environmental quality arose from Ed's initial vision several years ago," Ware says. " Ed has been our most passionate and tireless contributor. He has the right research background to lead the academic program, and he has the skills and commitment to work with our industrial partners."

As engineering dean at Syracuse, Bogucz developed and implemented a strategic plan that led to the hiring of 19 faculty members, the merger of the department of electrical and computer engineering and the school of computer science, and the creation of new programs to improve retention of undergraduate students. During his tenure, sponsored research expenditures rose by 120 percent from 1997 to the present to exceed $12 million annually, while the graduation rate of engineering students increased by 23 percentage points to exceed the university-wide rate for the first time.

Under Bogucz's leadership, the college also secured a $16-million award from New York State to establish a Strategically Targeted Academic Research (STAR) Center, a $2.5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) award for multidisciplinary systems assurance graduate education, and designation as a finalist in NSF's Engineering Research Center competition.

Bogucz holds a master's degree in heat transfer engineering from the University of London's Imperial College.