New Engineering Dean Takes Reins in January
Jean-Pierre Bardet looks forward to working with UT Arlington faculty, staff, students, and alumni to achieve great things. The chair of the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Southern California takes over as dean of the College of Engineering in January. Dr. Bardet studied engineering at Ecole Centrale in Lyon, France, and earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from the California Institute of Technology. A member of the USC faculty since 1983, he chaired the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department for five years, seeing its enrollment double over that span. During his tenure at USC, he was instrumental in attracting major philanthropic support. “We welcome Dr. Bardet to UT Arlington and know that his professional accomplishments and his enthusiasm for education and innovation will help propel the University’s drive to become a major, national research institution,” President James D. Spaniolo says. Bardet’s diverse professional interests include civil infrastructure systems, earthquake research, geomechanics, and synthetic track surfaces for horse racing. Most recently, he founded USC’s multidisciplinary Center on Megacities, which helps prepare and sustain the world’s largest cities.
“Dr. Bardet brings the College of Engineering and the University national and international recognition,” says Ron Elsenbaumer, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “As a scientist, he has made major advances in the field of earthquake engineering. As an administrator, he is a proven progressive and innovative leader.” Bill Carroll stepped down this fall as dean and plans to rejoin the computer science and engineering faculty next year.
