NEWS INDEX Archives 2006 May

Ilesanmi Adesida named dean of College of Engineering at Illinois

James E. Kloeppel, Physical Sciences Editor
217-244-1073; kloeppel@uiuc.edu

5/3/06

Editor’s note: Ilesanmi Adesida is pronounced ill-uh-SAHN-me uh-DISH-uh-duh; his nickname, Ade, is pronounced ODD-ee.

Click photo to enlarge University of Illinois Photo Ilesanmi Adesida, who has served as the interim dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since June 2005, has been chosen to be the next dean of the College of Engineering, pending approval of the U. of I. Board of Trustees at its May 11 meeting in Chicago.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Ilesanmi Adesida, who has served as the interim dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since June 2005, has been chosen to be the next dean of the College of Engineering, pending approval of the U. of I. Board of Trustees at its May 11 meeting in Chicago.

“Ilesanmi (Ade) Adesida is an established leader on the University of Illinois campus, with a record of success as a center director and as interim dean,” said Richard Herman, the chancellor of the Urbana campus. “He has demonstrated exemplary stewardship of the College of Engineering over the past year, as well as a compelling vision for the future of the college.

“His intellectual vitality, energy and enthusiasm are impressive, and will be critical in pursuing emerging opportunities in the field of engineering and attracting external partners to strengthen and sustain new directions. I have every confidence in Ade’s leadership ability and full trust in his vision for the future.”

Adesida is a Donald Biggar Willett Professor of Engineering in the department of electrical and computer engineering, and a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and at the Coordinated Science Laboratory. He also is the director of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, and a former director of the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory. He is to begin his new duties on June 16.

"Ilesanmi Adesida's research accomplishments provide the ideal foundation for the interdisciplinary scholarship that will advance engineering at the University of Illinois, in the nation and within the global community," said Provost Linda P.B. Katehi. "I am confident that our excellence will be enhanced through his leadership and vision as dean of the College of Engineering."

Adesida has received worldwide recognition for his extensive research and innovative techniques developed in the applications of advanced semiconductor processing and in the manufacturing of high-speed microelectronic devices and circuits.

His current research interests include the nanometer-scale processing of semiconductor structures and applications in high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Adesida earned his bachelor’s degree in 1974, his master’s in 1975, and his doctorate in 1979, all in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. After finishing his doctorate, he worked briefly at Cornell University and then as a university administrator in Nigeria, his native country. He joined the Illinois faculty in 1987, and became a U.S. citizen in 2002.

Adesida is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Vacuum Society, and the Optical Society of America. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, the Materials Research Society, and the Society for Engineering Education.