Michelle Norton
STAFF WRITER
Students of the Cullen College of Engineering will have new leadership this semester, benefiting from the growing trend among administrators to recruit top-notch faculty. Starting Aug. 10, Raymond Flumerfelt will replace John Wolfe as Dean of Engineering.
Fulmerfelt is the Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Alabama as well as a professor of chemical engineering. Serving UA since 1996, Flumerfelt has increased research and other external funding from $7.8 million to $10.5 million. He has also raised $5.1 million in new development funds supporting three new chairs, an endowed scholars fund and funds to support renovation and facility needs.
R.K. Pandey, head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UA, said that he believes the University of Houston is gaining a remarkable administrator and professor saying, "The students will benefit the most from his experience. He is a very creative gentleman with good ideas as to what quality education means."
As a student growing up in Texas, Flumerfelt attended Lamar University for his BS degree and Northwestern for University for his MS and Ph.D., all of which focused on chemical engineering. He also spent one year as a postdoctoral fellow at Wisconsin University.
Prior to his appointment at UA, Flumerfelt was on the faculty at the University of Notre Dame, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Tulsa and Texas A&M University.
As an administrator, Flumerfelt has served as the chair in Chemical Engineering at both the University of Tulsa and Texas A&M University. In
addition, at Texas A&M University he served as deputy vice chancellor and associate dean of engineering, as well as deputy director of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station.
While this is the first time for Flumerfelt to serve as a dean for UH, it is not the first time he has served for UH. Starting in 1968 he served for more than 17 years as associate chair for two chairs in the Department of Chemical Engineering. In 1978 he was an integral part of helping the UH chemical engineering program rank eighth among universities in the United States.
Flumerfelt has also worked in the private sector with major oil and chemical companies, accumulating over 31 years of experience in the field.
As the recipient of several outstanding teacher awards, Flumerfelt has been an investigator in more than $17 million of externally funded research. In addition, he has published over 50 referred journal articles and book chapters.
Experience at the university level has also allowed Flumerfelt involvement with several renowned organizations including the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Chemical Society and the Chemical Council for Research. He also served as a National Science Foundation Visiting Professor in Japan.
In the pursuit of a more well-rounded lifestyle, Flumerfelt sails on his private boat and plays golf in his spare time. With the move back to Houston, Flumerfelt and his wife Barbara look forward to spending more time with their family. The Flumerfelts have a daughter who is a practicing attorney in College Station and a son who is a research engineer for Holditch and Associates in Houston.
Excited to return to UH after many years, Flumerfelt is eager to continue the tradition of excellence at UH. He said, "I want to help make the programs already in place better. I want to build on what UH already has by using my experience as both a professor and an administrator."
UH Vice Chancellor for Academic Affiars/Provost Edward Sheridan said, "UH is extremely pleased to have recruited Dr. Flumerfelt. He brings an ideal combination of talents as a scholar, teacher and administrator."