Appointment of Interim Dean of College of Engineering

September 20, 2021

Dear Members of Our Campus Community,

In my campus memo of July 21, I shared with you the news that after ten years of extraordinary leadership and devoted service as our Dean of Engineering and Richard A. Auhll Professor, Dr. Rod Alferness has decided to retire on September 21, 2021.

Following my consultation with our faculty of the College of Engineering, Academic Senate Chair, Executive Vice Chancellor, and administrative colleagues, I am pleased to announce that Professor Tresa Pollock has graciously agreed to serve as Interim Dean of our College of Engineering, effective immediately.

ALCOA Distinguished Professor of Materials Tresa Pollock is a world-renowned expert in the science and technology of advanced structural alloys with applications in aerospace, energy, and automotive industries. Her current research is focused on 3D materials science and the mechanical and environmental performance of materials in extreme environments. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and a Fellow of The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society. In 2018 she was named an Honorary Member of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers and in 2021 the French Society of Materials and Metallurgy.

Professor Pollock joined UC Santa Barbara's Department of Materials in 2010, and served as department chair from 2011 to 2017. She has served as Associate Dean of our College of Engineering since 2018. She previously was Director of our International Center for Materials Research from 2010 to 2017. Since 2019, she has served as Co-Chair of the UCSB Action Collaborative Steering Committee, which oversees our campus participation in the national consortium Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, organized by the National Academies of Science and Medicine.

She holds a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from Purdue University and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Pollock's professional career started at GE Aircraft Engines, where she worked in the development of advanced superalloys for gas turbine engines. In 1991 she joined the MSE faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, where she was Alcoa Professor until 1999. From 2000 to 2010, she held the L.H. and F.E. Van Vlack Professorship of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan.

We are grateful for Professor Pollock's dedication and willingness to assume the responsibilities of this important leadership position. I look forward to making an announcement in the very near future regarding the formation of a search advisory committee for our next Dean of Engineering.

Please join us in extending our sincere thanks and best wishes to Dean Alferness. Please also join us in welcoming Professor Pollock as Interim Dean.

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang
Chancellor