UT Tickle College of Engineering Dean Wayne T. Davis has appointed Dr. Veerle Keppens, professor and associate head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) as the college’s new Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs. Keppens will be the first female senior academic administrator in the college’s history.

Keppens received her Ph.D. from K.U. Leuven, Belgium. She has been the recipient of numerous awards during her career, including the Tickle College of Engineering’s Research Fellow Award in 2009; the Chancellor’s Award for Professional Promise in 2007; and the MSE Outstanding Young Faculty Researcher Award in 2005.

Keppens was an Alexander Von Humboldt Fellow from 1998 to 1999 and a Fulbright-NATO Fellow from 1995 to 1998 in the novel materials group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). She is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and is the faculty advisor for the UT student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers.

Keppens’ primary area of research is the study of the lattice dynamics of materials through measurements of the elastic constants. As the elastic behavior is often connected to other properties, connecting the various findings often leads to a better understanding of the material under investigation.

Prior to becoming a faculty member at UT, Keppens was an assistant professor in the physics department and the National Center for Physical Acoustics at the University of Mississippi.

Keppens will join Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs Masood Parang and Associate Dean for Research and Technology William Dunne as part of the dean’s senior leadership team.

“I am pleased to announce that Dr. Keppens is taking on the role of associate dean for faculty affairs,” Davis said. “She has been an outstanding faculty member and researcher and I look forward to working with her in the area of faculty administration.”

For more information, contact Kim Cowart, Director of Engineering Communications, at (865) 974-0686, kcowart@utk.edu.