Engineering Professor Ravindra Duddu will be the inaugural faculty head of Rothschild College, which is scheduled to begin housing students in fall 2022.
Rothschild College, at the corner of West End Avenue and 24th Avenue South, is the university’s newest residential college. It is named in recognition of a transformational $20 million gift that Marieke and engineering Distinguished Alumnus Jeff Rothschild, BA’77, MS’79, made in 2016.
Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean of Residential Faculty Vanessa Beasley announced new appointments for the 2022-23 academic year. In addition, Sutherland House and Murray House will welcome two new faculty heads of house: Chezare Warren and Renã A.S. Robinson.
“Interacting with world-class faculty inside and outside of the classroom is the hallmark of a Vanderbilt education,” said C. Cybele Raver, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “We welcome these new leaders as they take on the vital role of supporting students’ intellectual and personal growth through innovative programming and mentorship.”
Duddu is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. His research focuses on developing advanced physics-based models for fracture of engineering and natural materials, formulating robust and accurate numerical methodologies, and implementing efficient algorithms for parallel computing.
“As the faculty head I wish to connect with our campus community and engage with students on health, diet, yoga, exercise, and resilience for difficult times,” Duddu said. “I hope this will lead to meaningful discussions with students.”
“I am thrilled that Professor Duddu will join our growing cohort of residential faculty,” Beasley said. “Faculty-student interactions are key to the success of Vanderbilt undergraduates, and I know our students will benefit tremendously from his mentorship.
Duddu joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Vanderbilt University in the fall of 2012. Prior to that he was a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University and a postdoctoral fellow at University of Texas at Austin.
He is member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the United States Association for Computational Mechanics, and the American Geophysical Union.
Contact: Brenda Ellis, 615 343 6314
brenda.ellis@vanderbilt.edu