Peter N. Pintauro has been named chair of the chemical engineering department at Vanderbilt University.
Pintauro, presently the Kent Hale Smith Professor of Engineering and chair of the chemical engineering department at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, was selected after a yearlong national search.
Pintauro, who has won numerous awards for teaching and research, is recognized for his work in the field of fuel cell membranes and electrochemical engineering.
“I know that Vanderbilt has a well-deserved reputation for excellence in undergraduate education. I am committed to maintaining that goal, and I’m excited about continuing to build on the department’s graduate education and research strengths,” Pintauro said.
Dean Ken Galloway announced the appointment and said, “Peter Pintauro is a wise choice to chair our chemical engineering department. He is a highly regarded engineer used to heading large projects, and he is a proven leader.”
The chemical engineering department has 9 faculty members, 146 undergraduate students and 30 graduate students.
Doug LeVan, the current chair of chemical engineering, said, “I’m delighted that Peter agreed to join our department and I’m looking forward to the work we will accomplish in advancing teaching and research under his leadership.”
In addition to his primary responsibilities, Pintauro will serve as professor of chemical engineering, teaching classes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
He is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Electrochemical Society, the American Chemical Society, and is president of the North American Membrane Society.
Pintauro earned a B.S degree in 1973 at the University of Pennsylvania, and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.
After receiving his Ph.D. in 1980, Pintauro served as a postdoctoral scholar and staff engineer, in UCLA’s department of chemical engineering. From 1986 to 2002, he was a chemical engineering professor at Tulane University in New Orleans. Since 2002 Pintauro has been at Case Western Reserve University.