Vice Dean of Villanova Engineering

Sridhar Santhanam, PhD, assumes new College leadership position

Sridhar Santhanam, PhD, professor and former chair of Mechanical Engineering, was selected in January as the inaugural vice dean of the College of Engineering. In this newly created role, Dr. Santhanam will facilitate operations and work closely with the leadership team of associate deans, external relations and strategic initiatives, while helping to support academic programs.

A member of the Mechanical Engineering faculty since 1989, Dr. Santhanam had served as department chair since fall 2018. Under his leadership, the department grew through the hiring of six new faculty members, the promotion of seven others and an increase in research activity, publications and PhD students.

Dr. Santhanam’s own research focuses on the mechanics of multifunctional materials, structural health monitoring and ultrasonics. He is the director of the Laboratory for Mechanics of Materials Processing and a member of the College’s Materials and Manufacturing research cluster.

“Over the past several years, the role of dean has evolved into one that requires an increased amount of time on external affairs, such as fostering corporate connections, engaging alumni, increasing philanthropy and serving on national boards,” says Michele Marcolongo, PhD, PE, the Drosdick Endowed Dean of the College of Engineering. “The vice dean position was created in response to this shift, to assist in maintaining the appropriate balance between external expectations of the dean and internal operations of the College.

“Dr. Santhanam’s commitment to collaboration, innovation and academic excellence will serve him well in this role,” Dean Marcolongo adds, “as will his dedication to Villanova’s values of Veritas, Unitas, Caritas.”