News

Congratulations to Thu D. Nguyen, current Chair of the Computer Science Department, for being selected as the next School of Arts and Sciences Area Dean for Mathematical and Physical Sciences effective July 1st, 2019.

Executive Dean Peter March's announcement follows:

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that Thu D. Nguyen, a professor of computer science and chair of the department, has been named Area Dean for Mathematical and Physical Sciences effective July 1, 2019. He succeeds Ron Ransome who stepped down after six years of outstanding service.

Thu joined the Rutgers faculty in 1999 and has been serving in leadership roles within the computer science department during a time of rapid technological change. Thu has helped keep our programs on the leading edge, worked to make the overall field more diverse, and pursued research that has explored ways to improve computer science teaching.  

As associate chair for five years, and chair for the last two, Thu oversaw an expansion of computer science faculty, especially in the ranks of the teaching professors and professors of practice, who he recruited, supervised, and mentored. He has also helped develop a plan to create an undergraduate program in data science.

Thu works on the cusp of change in his field. He helped with the creation of the Douglass-SAS-DIMACS Living-Learning Community for Women in Computer Science and is a strong supporter of this critical program. He is a co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded project to create professional development programs for high school computer science teachers and administrators. Thu has also been a co-organizer of the New Jersey Summit on Scalability and Diversity in Computer Science Education that has taken place annually at Rutgers since 2016 and brings together educators, policy-makers, and industry officials.

Thu received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley; his master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and his doctorate from the University of Washington. His research focuses on building efficient, sustainable, and dependable computer systems and improving computer science education.

As Area Dean, he will work with department chairs in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences and the Executive Dean to assist with hiring and promotion of faculty, maintain oversight of undergraduate and graduate instruction within departments and programs, and work with faculty and chairs to promote professional and departmental development. He also participates in the strategic planning and decision-making process of the School of Arts and Sciences providing recommendations and assistance to the Executive Dean.

Please join me in congratulating Thu and welcoming him to our leadership team.

Sincerely,

Peter March