Dean Devdas Shetty
Devdas Shetty comes to Lawrence Tech from the University of Hartford (U of H) in Connecticut where he is the dean of research, the director of the engineering applications center, the associate dean of the College of Engineering, and the Vernon D. Rosa endowed professor in manufacturing engineering. He has developed a reputation there for innovative partnerships between U of H and industry.
“I am excited to join Lawrence Technological University as I see a close match between my own outlook of engineering and the university’s vision of engineering education that gives students theoretical tools and hands-on experiences in an atmosphere of entrepreneurial leadership and improved learning,” Shetty said. “I will work to increase Lawrence Tech’s effectiveness in reaching out to industrial partners and will seek to raise the profile of programs that are considered among the finest in the country.”
Shetty joined U of H in 1988, and earlier was an associate professor at the Albert Nerkin School of Engineering at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York City (1983-88), associate professor at the University of the West Indies (Trinidad) (1978-83), and served as the senior technical officer at the United Nations Center on Computer-Aided Manufacturing (1974-78) in Bangalore, India.
A registered professional engineer, Shetty received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, after finishing bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the National Institute of Technology, Surathkal, India. He has published more than 150 articles based on his research and educational projects.
Shetty has been a principal investigator for some 30 grants in engineering education and research. Working with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, he developed a multidisciplinary research and academic program for laser applications that was funded by the Air Force. The integrated engineering curriculum developed at U of H under Shetty’s leadership, with support from the National Science Foundation, has been adopted by other engineering schools.
Shetty holds five patents. His research has been cited for pioneering contributions in the area of surface measurement in manufacturing engineering and for contributions to the fields of mechatronics and product design, fields in which he has authored two textbooks used worldwide that have been translated into several languages.
Shetty’s honors include U of H’s James and Frances Bent Award for Creativity, the Society of Manufacturing Engineer’s Edward S. Roth National Award and its Honor Award, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Faculty Award. He is an elected member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.
Shetty is married and has two sons.
Shetty succeeds Laird E. Johnston, a former General Motors and EDS executive who served as dean of engineering 2000-05 and again since 2006. Johnston will retire at the end of this year.
“Dr. Johnston leaves a college much improved from the one that he inherited,” said Maria J. Vaz, Lawrence Tech provost. “He oversaw the development of a host of new undergraduate and graduate programs, the college’s first doctoral degree, renovated laboratories, the creation of our Center for Innovative Materials Research, the Lear Entrepreneurial Program, and many other improvements and accomplishments. We are profoundly grateful for his service.”