The announcement below is from Dr. Karim Abdel-Malek, Director of the Center for Computer-Aided Design.
I am pleased to announce the appointments of Dr. Tom Schnell and Dr. Jun Wang to the Center for Computer-Aided Design’s leadership team. Dr. Schnell will serve as Associate Director, and Dr. Wang will serve as Assistant Director. The sustained growth of CCAD over the past few years and the new research thrusts have given rise to these appointments.
Dr. Schnell has a wealth of experience in avionics and aerospace research. He built a world-class laboratory from the ground up and continues to bring new and exciting research initiatives to campus. He is a professor with joint appointments in the Departments of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Occupational and Environmental Health, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Neurology; the founder and director of the Operator Performance Laboratory at CCAD; and a researcher at the UI’s Public Policy Center and Heartland Center for Occupational Health and Safety. He is also the Captain Jim “Max” Gross Chair in Engineering. I am confident that he will be able to inspire others to innovate and push the envelope in his new role as associate director of CCAD.
Dr. Wang, with twelve active research contracts and an abundance of energy and enthusiasm, has demonstrated effective leadership of his research team and has established strategic partnerships across industry and academia. He is a professor with joint appointments in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and the Iowa Informatics Initiative, and secondary affiliations with the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Studies, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and CCAD. I believe Jun will add tremendous value as assistant director of CCAD by creating new research thrusts, involving junior faculty and staff in research, and preparing CCAD for the next leap in technological research and development.