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Khalifa University announces its new President

The final candidate was selected by the Presidential Search Committee, which was appointed by the Board and chaired by Prof. Elias Zerhouni, the former Director of the National Institute of Health and now a senior advisor to Johns Hopkins Medicine and Member of the Board of Trustees at Khalifa University. Another five members comprised the committee, including:

Professor David Baltimore, Former President of the California Institute of Technology, USA, and a 1975 Nobel Laureate Professor William Brody, President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, USA, and former President of Johns Hopkins Professor James Johnson Duderstad, President Emeritus and University Professor of Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, USA Professor Raymond Orbach, undersecretary for Science and Director of the Office of Science, Department of Energy Professor Sir John O’Reilly, Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University, UK.

More than 200 candidates were reviewed, with seven making the shortlist. From these, two final candidates were selected to present themselves to the Board during the fourth Board of Trustees meeting in late March, where the Board made its final decision.

The successful candidate, Prof. Tod A. Laursen, currently Professor and Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University in the United States, will take up his new post at the Abu Dhabi based university in August, in time for the start of the new academic year.

An accomplished and hands-on academic who has been at Duke University for 18 years, Prof. Laursen’s remit at KUSTAR will be to lead and develop one of the fastest-growing higher educational establishments in the region, developing a new generation of skilled technical graduates in the UAE and research centers in the University.

Uniquely, Prof. Laursen has worked across a number of engineering fields, including mechanical, computer and biomedical. His adaptability has also extended to studies in energy and environment at Duke, where he was the founder of an interdisciplinary energy and environment undergraduate certificate, intended for both engineers and non-engineers. In addition to his main role at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, he also directs the Gendell Center for Engineering, Energy and the Environment at Duke.

Prof. Laursen holds Ph.D and MS postgraduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a BS in the same subject from Oregon State University. An American, he has received numerous awards for his work in the mechanical, computer and biomedical engineering field and has authored or contributed to more than one hundred published books, journal papers, and conference contributions.

Speaking on behalf of the Search Committee, Prof. Elias Zerhouni said ‘As chair of the blue ribbon search committee, I am pleased that Dr Laursen, a rising star in the academic world of the United States has been attracted to the opportunity and challenge of helping build a world class Science, Technology and Research University for Abu Dhabi and the people of the UAE as President. This is a real testimony to the bold vision and commitment to excellence of the Board of Trustees of KUSTAR.’

Speaking on behalf of the Board of Trustees, Dr Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Interim President said: ‘KUSTAR is a young university with big ambitions. The board of trustees was determined to find a President who matched these qualities. In Prof. Laursen we have a leading engineer who is both academically renowned and passionate about science and technology. His interdisciplinary experience will prove invaluable in bringing together the various aspects of the student and faculty body, and uniting the different disciplines. We are confident that he will be an inspirational guiding force for our students and a motivated leader for our growing faculty and staff.’

Prof. Laursen added: ‘My new role at KUSTAR represents both a highly exciting opportunity and an honour. With a new campus and high growth targets, the university is entering a new chapter in its history. I see my responsibility as helping to shape the futures of a new generation of technically-skilled graduates in the UAE who will be able to contribute to the development of their wider society; I am looking forward to playing an active role in supporting the growth of the nation.’

He continues: ‘Technical degrees teach young people analytical skills that can be applied in a number of different business environments, not just in technical careers per se. I see part of KUSTAR’s mission as helping to develop a deeper understanding of the benefits of studying for technical degrees as well as exciting students about the widespread career possibilities which lay before them.’

Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, KUSTAR’s Interim President, will be staying on at KUSTAR as Executive Vice-President.

KUSTAR was established in February 2007 by a decree issued by the UAE President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. KUSTAR’s main campus is located in Abu Dhabi, while it operates with another campus in Sharjah, and presently offers bachelor degrees in Computer, Communication, Electronic, Software, Mechanical, Aerospace and BioMedical Engineering, Master’s and Doctorate degree programs in Computer, Telecommunication and Electronic Engineering, in addition to the Master’s degree in Information Security. In the future, KUSTAR will also offer degrees in other disciplines of Engineering, Logistics and Management, Life Sciences and Homeland Security.

Moreover, KUSTAR will include research centers in disciplines such as Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Energy, Nanotechnology, Aerospace and Health Sciences.

KUSTAR is open to men and women from all nationalities with particular emphasis being placed on educating young UAE nationals.

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