Stephen P. DeWeerth has joined Lehigh University as its new dean of the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Prior to his arrival at Lehigh, DeWeerth was a professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. He also served as professor in Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and as Associate Dean for Research and Innovation for its College of Engineering.

DeWeerth received his Ph.D. degree in Computational and Neural Systems from the California Institute of Technology in 1991, after which he took his first faculty appointment at Georgia Tech. He was also a founding faculty member in the Coulter BME Department, when it was created in 1999.

During his tenure at Georgia Tech, he served in numerous leadership positions including as the Founding Director of the Laboratory for Neuroengineering (an interdisciplinary research neighborhood and center), as the Director of Graduate Studies for the joint GT/Emory Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. program, and as the Principle Investigator on an NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) grant and an NIH Bioengineering Research Partnership (BRP) grant. His research focuses on the development of real-time models of and interfaces to neural sensorimotor systems, particularly systems that control rhythmic movement (e.g. locomotion).

DeWeerth also served as Founding Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and as academic lead for the development of its College of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).

"It is a great honor to be the new Dean of the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science," DeWeerth said. "The achievements, enthusiasm, and potential that I have observed at Lehigh have exceeded my highest expectations. It is clear that this is an outstanding university that embodies innovation in undergraduate and graduate education as well as excellence in research and scholarship."

“Steve is an accomplished scholar, a highly respected leader in the world of engineering, and a forward-thinking administrator who shares Lehigh’s belief in the importance of innovation in higher education,” said Lehigh provost Patrick V. Farrell. “We are confident that his insights, knowledge and enthusiasm will serve the college well.”

Stephen DeWeerth joins Lehigh University as Dean of the Rossin College of Engineering. (Photos by Douglas Benedict / Academic Image)