Former MechSE professor and department head Richard Buckius was recently nominated for the position of Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation by President Barack Obama.
Buckius is the current Chief Operating Officer at the NSF, a position he has held since October 2014.
Written by Christina Oehler, MechSE Communications
Former MechSE professor and department head Richard Buckius was recently nominated for the position of Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation by President Barack Obama.
Buckius is the current Chief Operating Officer at the NSF, a position he has held since October 2014. He also previously served the NSF as Assistant Director of the Directorate of Engineering.
“I am grateful that these talented and dedicated individuals have agreed to take on these important roles and devote their talents to serving the American people,” President Obama said in a press release. “I look forward to working with them.”
Buckius held multiple positions throughout his time at the University of Illinois from 1975 to 2004, including MechSE department head from 1998 to 2004, a Richard W. Kritzer Professor, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Research. Under his leadership, the department offered the first undergraduate microfabrication course in the nation, as well as the Grayce Wicall Gautheir Chair, its first endowed chair.
His distinguished research has contributed greatly to the fields of thermal sciences and earned him a variety of notable awards. In addition to many departmental, college, and campus awards, Buckius earned two from ASME in recognition of his outstanding achievements in research and teaching.