Andrew Hrymak has been re-appointed to a five-year term as dean of the Faculty of Engineering. His first term concludes June 30, 2014.
“I know that you will join the Selection Committee and me in celebrating Andy’s re-appointment. He has provided excellent leadership to Engineering during his first term and he received strong endorsement for a second term from our campus community during the decanal review process,” wrote Janice Deakin, Western’s provost and vice-president (academic). “I am confident that, with your continued support, Andy will continue to provide creative and effective leadership for Engineering and the broader university in his role as dean.”
Under Hyrmak’s leadership, the faculty has seen an increase in undergraduate and graduate enrolment, industry partnerships, alumni activities and outreach initiatives.
In 2011, Hrymak played a key role in securing a long-term research collaboration between Western and the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) in the area composite technologies. This joint venture – the Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research @ Western – represents the first comprehensive initiative between a Canadian university and an institute of Fraunhofer.
Throughout his first term as dean, Hrymak worked with his team to increase opportunities for women in engineering through participation in activities such as Go ENG Girl, Girls Club and Hydro One’s new Women In Engineering University Partnership with Ryerson University, University of Ontario Institute of Technology and University of Waterloo.
Hrymak holds a BEng degree from McMaster University and a PhD from Carnegie Mellon University. His principal areas of specialization are polymer and materials processing, computational fluid dynamics, and process design and simulation.
Hrymak, who started as Engineering dean on July 1, 2009, was recruited from McMaster where he was a professor and chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering as well as director of the Walter G. Booth School of Engineering Practice and McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute.
He has held leadership positions in professional organizations, chaired major international conferences and is an editor for two journals. He has been recognized through awards by the Chemical Institute of Canada and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.