After concluding a national search, it is a pleasure to announce the selection of Dr. Allan Weatherwax, Professor of Physics at Siena College, as the new Dean of the School of Science. He will assume the position in the fall of 2011.
 
Professor Weatherwax is an internationally recognized authority on the interaction of planetary and terrestrial radio emissions, both natural and man-made, with space environment.  He has conducted geophysical research in the polar-regions since the 1990s, and has served as principal investigator on numerous NSF and NASA grants. At present, and together with his research team of students and engineers at Siena College, he directs optical, radio, and magnetic experiments in Antarctica, Canada, and Greenland. He also serves as the co-director of the satellite mission Firefly that will explore the mysteries of gamma rays produced by lightning discharges.
 
Professor Weatherwax serves on numerous national and international committees and was recently elected to serve on the Polar Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. He is the author of more than 100 engineering and science papers, and the Weatherwax Glacier in Antarctica is named in his honor to recognize his research efforts on that continent.
 
Dr. Weatherwax received his Ph.D. in physics from Dartmouth in 1995 and a B.S. in mathematical physics from Binghamton University. Before joining Siena College in 2002, he was on faculty at the University of Maryland and Washington College.
 
I also wish to thank Dean Karen Quaal for her service during this   interim period. She will be taking a well-deserved sabbatical during the academic year 2011-2012.
 
Please join the Office of Academic Affairs in welcoming Dr. Weatherwax as the new School of Science Dean.
 
     Linda L. Richardson, Ph.D.
     Vice President for Academic Affairs