Younan to lead department of electrical and computer engineering
June 1, 2009
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State alumnus, Dr. Nicolas H. Younan, is being named the department head of electrical and computer engineering (ECE), and he also will carry the James Worth Bagley Endowed Chair. Younan served as interim department head when Dr. Sarah Rajala was promoted to dean of the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering in June of 2008.
Younan began his teaching career as a visiting assistant professor in 1988 and has since worked his way up the university system, earning the tenure position of associate professor in 1993. He then advanced to graduate program director in 1995, and was promoted to full professor in 2001. For the past five years he has been recognized as a Hearin Eminent Scholar for Outstanding Research and Scholarly Contributions and in 2003 earned the BCoE’s Outstanding Engineering Research Award.
“I look forward to working with Dr. Younan to continue providing our students with an outstanding education, achieving excellence in research and positively impacting the economy in the State of Mississippi,” said Rajala.
A senior member in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Younan graduated cum laude with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Mississippi State. He earned his doctorate in electrical engineering from Ohio University.
Younan has chaired, co-chaired and served on more than 45 committees for professional service and educational organizations. In addition, he has consulted with commercial and government engineering entities, such as Lockheed Martin, NASA-Stennis Space Center, TRW Inc., and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.
“Dr. Younan’s external collaborations with the European Space Agency and Research Institute, the Romanian Space Agency, the Meraka Institute in South Africa, and Beihang University in China reinforces the college’s commitment to global engineering education and ensures that our graduates will have the experience and skills to reach out, build relationships and work across borders,” commented Rajala.
Younan holds two patents and is author and co-author of more than 200 publications in the form of book chapters, journals, technical reports, summaries, and presentations.
Younan officially begins serving in his new leadership role July 1, 2009.