Students in mechanical engineering will see a new face in the halls next semester, as the university has named a new chair to head the department.

The Mechanical Engineering Department has chosen Dr. Warren DeVries, a professor on leave from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York, as its new chair. DeVries is currently a program director at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

DeVries has been a faculty member in RPI’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering and Mechanics since 1982. He has served as a program director for manufacturing machines and equipment in the NSF’s Division of Design, Manufacture and Industrial Innovation since 1994.

The mechanical engineering department began its search for a new chair after the previous chair, Ted Okiishi, became an associate dean, said David Holger, associate dean of the College of Engineering.

DeVries has “a strong background as an engineering faculty member, and most recently as a program manager at NSF,” Holger said. “He came across as a candidate who is concerned about undergraduate education.”

Holger said the search to find a new chair was a national search. The department was looking for a person from outside the university with a fresh view who could “bring a department that is in good shape, forward.”

“I don’t envision any major changes,” Holger said. “This is not a situation where a lot of changes are necessary. There will be changes, but they will be evolutionary, rather than revolutionary.”

At RPI, DeVries taught several undergraduate courses and has advised 63 graduate students. He has published more than 40 research articles, has authored two textbooks and has lectured at universities throughout the world.

DeVries was chosen from three finalists by consensus of a committee of faculty, staff and students. His appointment is for 5 years and is effective Aug. 8.