The University of Houston Cullen College Engineering is proud to name Karolos Grigoriadis, Moores Professor of Mechanical Engineering, as the new Chair of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, effective July 1. A faculty member of the Mechanical Engineering department at the University of Houston since 1994, Grigoriadis has been serving as the department’s interim chair since November 1, 2023. “I am honored to be named Chair of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department. I appreciate the support of Dean Sharma and my colleagues. I look forward to working with them to advance our department and achieve our goal of ranking among the top 50 in the country. As Chair, I see my role as an enabler and facilitator. We have outstanding faculty, staff, and students, and my aim is to bring out the best in each of us so we can grow, thrive, and reach our top-50 goal."
Grigoriadis, a renowned scholar in the field of control of mechanical and aerospace systems, has advised or co-advised over 30 doctoral students at UH and has authored or co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed journal publications, 200 peer-reviewed conference proceedings, and three books. He has received numerous national and university awards for his research and teaching, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Society of Automotive Engineers Ralph Teetor Award, the Bill Cook Scholar Award, the Herbert Allen Award for Outstanding Contributions by a Young Engineer, the university’s Research Excellence Awards at the assistant, associate, and full professor levels, the college’s W. T. Kittinger Outstanding Teacher Award twice, and the UH Career Teaching Award.His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Army Research Office, the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Research Laboratory, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Vestas, Weatherford, and other federal and state agencies and companies. As the principal investigator of a recent $5 million NASA award, he will serve as the director of the Inflatable Deployable Environments and Adaptive Space Systems (IDEAS²) Center at UH, which is set to launch in October 2024.
Grigoriadis earned his doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue University in 1994. He holds an M.A. in mathematics from Purdue University (1993), an M.A. in aerospace engineering from Virginia Tech (1989), and an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in Greece (1987).
Grigoriadis succeeds Pradeep Sharma, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Professor, who was named the new dean of the Cullen College this summer.