Purdue University has honored Dean Julia Ross of UMBC’s College of Engineering and IT as one of six Outstanding Chemical Engineers for 2015.

Dean Ross is an alumna of Purdue and received her PhD in chemical engineering from Rice University in 1995. She has served as dean of COEIT since August 2014, and is also UMBC’s Constellation Professor of Information Technology and Engineering.

Prior to her appointment as dean, Ross served as special assistant to the provost for inter-institutional research initiatives, 2012-14, and was instrumental in enhancing research collaborations between UMBC and the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Among her current projects, Dean Ross has collaborated with colleagues Jon Singer and Chris Rakes from UMBC’s department of education, and Richard Weisenhoff from Baltimore County Public Schools, on developing curriculum and training resources to integrate engineering into high school biology and technology classrooms. Most recently, NSF supported UMBC-BCPS Inspires through a $3 million grant in 2014.

As dean, Ross has contributed to several important national initiatives, including signing on to a letter of commitment to improve the inclusiveness of engineering education at the first White House Demo Day, hosted by President Barack Obama in August 2015.

Joining Dean Ross are fellow award recipients Norm Kidder, CEO of Lomar Corporation; John Klier, a global R&D director at Dow; Seung Bin Park (PhD ’88) a vice president at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; Charles E. Smith, president and CEO of Countrymark; and Vijay Swarup, vice president of R&D for ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company.