New Associate Dean, Department Chairs Selected

Engineering Selects New Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Department Chairs

by Cody Howard

Mario Medina, associate professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, was named associate dean for academic affairs (ADAA) for the University of Kansas School of Engineering, effective July 1. The ADAA leads the school’s academic affairs at the undergraduate and graduate levels and plays a critical role in promoting and maintaining the academic excellence of the school.

“Professor Medina brings an excellent track record in the areas of recruitment, retention, curriculum development, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion to the School,” said Dean of Engineering Arvin Agah. “With a history of distinguished service, outstanding teaching and world-class research, he is an ideal choice to oversee the critical responsibilities of this position.”

Lisa Friis, professor of mechanical engineering, and Susan Williams, professor of chemical and petroleum engineering, also assumed the role of chair of their respective departments on July 1. They are the first women to serve as department chair in the 127-year history of the KU School of Engineering.

Mario Medina

Mario Medina

Mario Medina joined the KU Architectural Engineering Department in 1998. When architectural engineering merged with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2001, Medina moved to the School of Engineering. His research focuses on developing energy-efficient building components, with specialization in building enclosures. He is internationally known in the field of phase change materials integration into building components.

Professor Medina received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University in 1992. He has been the associate chair for undergraduate programs in CEAE since 2014. He is the recipient of the Henry E. Gould Award for Teaching (2019) and the Bellows Scholar Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching and Service (2006 and 2019).

Lisa Friis

Lisa Friis earned a B.S. degree in biomedical engineering and an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Lisa Friis Iowa, and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Wichita State University. From 1987 to 2001, she was a research scientist at the Orthopedic Research Institute in Wichita. She joined the KU Mechanical Engineering Department in 2001.

At KU, Friis helped develop the product design and development track in the KU Bioengineering Graduate program and has served as its co-director since 2007. She has received several teaching awards, including the KU Outstanding Woman Educator Award in 2007 and a Kemper Fellowship in 2006. Friis has received several National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research awards, and has licensed technologies that are currently commercialized.

Susan Williams

Susan Williams has been at KU since 1999. Her research is centered on converting biomass to fuels and higher value products. She Susan Williams holds a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Oklahoma. She has served as the KU faculty athletics representative since 2013.

Professor Williams is the director of the KU Biodiesel Initiative and co-founder of the Kansas Biodiesel Consortium. She has held the John E. and Winifred E. Sharp Teaching Professorship, and received several awards for teaching and service, including the Mortar Board Outstanding Educator Award, Gould Award for Distinguished Service in Undergraduate Advising, and the Steeples Service to Kansans Award.