Most of you probably have heard of our first nominee for Person of the Year. His name is Bud Peterson, and he is currently the provost at Rensselaer. His responsibilities include overseeing the academic programs and components of the institution—including the faculty, undergraduate students, and graduate students. His education background includes a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1975, a B.S. in mathematics in 1977, and an M.S. in engineering in 1980, all from Kansas State University. Then, in 1985, he received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University.
Peterson has been at RPI since July 1. His previous experiences include being named the engineering college’s Tenneco Professor at Texas A&M in 1991, program director for the Thermal Transport and Thermal Processing Division of the National Science Foundation in 1993. Additionally, Peterson was a visiting research scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He is also a member of Pi Tau Sigma, Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Xi, and Phi Kapppa Phi and was named a Texas Engineering Experiment Station Senior Research Fellow in 1989.
When asked what he most liked about RPI, Peterson said that he enjoyed all of the excitement and energy that is found in the students and faculty at Rensselaer. What he finds unique about Rensselaer is the "intellectual curiosity" of both the faculty and the students and how all of the different schools’ departments interact with each other. He appreciates the fact that each school makes itself very accessible to students and faculty from other schools.
When asked about what he wants to change about Rensselaer, he said that he is working hard to implement the ideas and goals of The Rensselaer Plan. But if he had to pick one thing to change, it would be to make the weather in the winter warmer since he is originally from Texas. Peterson has a wife and four children, three of whom are currently in college and one of whom is finishing his senior year in high school.
Peterson has received many awards over the years. He was amongst the top 10 percent of evaluations in the Dwight Look School of Engineering at Texas A&M, and won the Pi Tau Sigma J. George H. Thompson award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. The Texas A&M University Association of Former Students gave Peterson the Outstanding Teaching award at both the college and university levels, and he also received the 1990 AIAA Best Paper award in Thermophysics for his work in modeling and testing small "micro" heat pipes.
To vote for Peterson for Person of the Year, keep an eye out in The Poly later in the semester for details about how to vote.
