President Shirley Ann Jackson introduced the new Dean: “Alan Cramb is an outstanding leader … [who] brings his considerable skills and experience to Rensselaer at a time when many new faculty have joined the Institute, research awards are growing, student quality is improving, and we are moving boldly into new fields which will be critically important in the 21st century.”

Cramb started off by saying that he started as “a boy from a small town in Scotland,” and said that he was really glad about the path that led him to where he is today. He stated that being dean is a great responsibility and added, “we all have to work together as a team.” He heralded the faculty and said, “I think this is a great platform for us to move forward.”

In addition to the introduction from Jackson, Cramb was also welcomed by Provost G. P. “Bud” Peterson, a member of the advisory board for the School of Engineering, Grand Marshal Max Yates ’06, and President of the Union Peter Baldwin ’06.

Cramb currently chairs the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to beginning his work at CMU, he had worked in research groups in the steel industry.

In a subsequent interview, Cramb said that he has enjoyed his time in both industry and academia. He pointed out that in business, one gains a lot of responsibility very quickly, and there is an emphasis on communication, managing projects, and economics. He said that part of his reason for wanting to go back to academia is that he wanted to do “more fundamental research.” He added, “I also had this thought that I’d like to teach.”

The new dean said that his biggest challenges in the coming months will be to meet with everyone, really get an understanding of the undergraduate and graduate programs, and to see where the Institute is headed. He also said that he was looking forward to meeting the students and the faculty of RPI.