MechSE alumni board president appointed University of Iowa provost

MechSE alumni board president Barry Butler was appointed provost of the University of Iowa in May 2011, after serving as interim provost since October 2010. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He continued his education at Illinois and earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering in 1984. After he graduated he joined the University of Iowa faculty and soon became the dean of the school’s College of Engineering.

Butler has previously worked as a visiting research fellow for the U.S. Navy and Sandia National Laboratories. He also worked as a visiting faculty member at Université de Provence in Marseille, France. Butler serves on several state and national technology-based organizations and is committed to the advancement of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. He is also research committee co-chair for the American Wind Energy Association. Butler’s research area mainly focuses on flow analysis and modeling.