Domenico Grasso Explained

6th Chancellor of the
Term Start:August 1, 2018
Predecessor:Daniel Little
Title2:Provost of the
Term Start2:August 15, 2013
Term End2:October 15, 2017
Predecessor2:Tom Apple
Successor2:Robin W. Morgan
Birth Place:Worcester, Massachusetts
Alma Mater:Worcester Polytechnic Institute (BS)
Purdue University (MS)
University of Michigan (PhD)
Profession:Professor and engineer
Spouse:Susan Hull
Children:4
Website:Office of the Chancellor
Module:
Embed:yes
Fields:Engineering
Workplaces:
Thesis Title:Ozonation dynamics in water treatment: Autocatalytic decomposition, mass transfer, and impact on particle stability
Thesis Url:https://www.proquest.com/docview/303471733/
Thesis Year:1987
Doctoral Advisor:Walter J. Weber, Jr.

Domenico Grasso (born 1955) is an American engineer, professor and the sixth chancellor of the University of Michigan–Dearborn. He has previously served as provost of the University of Delaware, vice president for research and dean of two different colleges at the University of Vermont. Grasso is Smith College's Picker Engineering Program's founding director.[1]

Early life and education

Grasso was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on November 16, 1955, to Ciriaco Grasso, who immigrated from Ariano Irpino (Italy) and Tommasina Grasso who immigrated from Vieste (Italy).[2]

He attended college on an Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps scholarship[3] and holds a Bachelor of Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Master of Science in civil engineering from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.[4]

Grasso is a veteran of the United States Army, serving from 1977 to 1990, and resigned his commission as a major. He received awards that included the Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Reserve Components Training Ribbon, Army Commendation Medal and Army Parachutist Badge.[5] He deployed as part of two REFORGERS, Certain Sentinel (1986) and Certain Challenge (1988).

Academic career

Grasso joined the faculty of the University of Connecticut's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 1989. He later served as department head from 1998 to 2000.[6] During 1996, Grasso was a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley.[7]

In 2000, he declined a chair position at Columbia University to become the Smith College's Rosemary Bradford Hewlett Professor, where he became the Picker Engineering Program's first director,[8] the United States' first women's college engineering program.[9] While there, he collaborated with astronaut Sally Ride on TOYChallenge, a nationwide toy design event that encouraged STEM learning for middle school students.[10]

In 2005, Grasso was named the University of Vermont's dean of the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences[11] and later served as vice president for research and dean of the Graduate College.[12] While at UVM, he established the university-wide Complex Systems Center and initiated efforts to broaden engineering education to more intentionally include the liberal arts and social sciences, including the creation of a B.A. program in engineering and a B.S. in engineering science.[13]

Grasso began his appointment as provost at the University of Delaware in 2013.[14] While in office, he created the Division of Enrollment Management and Institute for Financial Services Analytics.[15] He also played a major role in new university programs in the humanities, arts, social sciences and entrepreneurship.[16]

On February 15, 2018, Grasso was named the University of Michigan–Dearborn's sixth chancellor, beginning August 1, 2018.[17] On February 16, 2023, The Board of Regents voted unanimously to reappoint him to a second term. [18] He is the first University of Michigan alum to lead the university and is also a professor of public policy and sustainable engineering. In addition to being chief executive officer of the UM-Dearborn campus, he is an executive officer of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor | Dearborn | Flint).

Among the honors and awards received by Grasso are the AWWA National Doctoral Dissertation Award;[19] being elected Fellow of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors;[20] the Association for Environmental Health and Sciences FoundationCareer Achievement Award;[21] the John Cabot University Education Excellence Award;[22] the Robert H. Goddard Alumni Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement, WPI;[23] the Water Environment Federation Disinfection Pioneer Award.[24]

Scholarship and research

Grasso's research focuses on how contaminants change and move in the environment over time, as well as processes to reduce their impacts on nature and human health.[25] [26] He has also written extensively on the intersection of engineering education with the liberal arts and social sciences.[27] [28]

He has authored or co-authored hundreds of journal articles, essays and reports, and was editor-in-chief of the journal Environmental Engineering Science.[29] He is the co-editor and chief contributor to the book Holistic Engineering Education: Beyond Technology (Springer 2010).[30] He has also authored the book Hazardous Waste Site Remediation (Routledge 1993)[31] and co-edited the book Hazardous Waste Management (UNESCO-ELOSS 2009).[32]

Grasso has held a variety of distinguished posts in the environmental engineering and science fields, including fellow on the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society, technical expert to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, vice chair of the Science Advisory Board for the United States Environmental Protection Agency and president of the AEESP.[33]

Grasso, a member of a World Bank-funded international team that started the first environmental engineering program in Argentina,[34] also chaired the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee that authored Environmental Engineering for the 21st Century: Addressing Grand Challenges and testified before the Congress of the Republic of Peru on sustainable development in Latin America.[35]

Personal life

Grasso is married to the former Susan Jean Hull, a University of Michigan engineering alumna who also has a Ph.D. from the Biden School of Public Policy at the University of Delaware, with whom he has four adult children: Benjamin, Jacob, Elspeth and Caitlin.

External links

Notes and References

  1. The engineer behind Smith's new program. Christian Science Monitor. January 4, 2000. July 11, 2019.
  2. Web site: Jesse . David . 9 questions with University of Michigan-Dearborn's new chancellor . Detroit Free Press . Detroit Free Press . 16 November 2020.
  3. Web site: The Peddler . archive.org . Worcester Polytechnic Institute Senior Class 1977 . 17 November 2020 . https://archive.org/details/peddlerofworcest1977worc/page/n223/mode/2up?q=grasso . 27 January 2012. 224 . yearbook . 1977.
  4. Web site: About Domenico Grasso. July 11, 2019.
  5. Web site: New leaders take the helm at Dearborn's higher learning institutions. July 11, 2019.
  6. Web site: Dr. Domenico Grasso. Rowan. University. July 11, 2019.
  7. Web site: Provost Grasso resigns, plans to return as faculty member. Caleb. Owens. September 26, 2017. July 11, 2019.
  8. The engineer behind Smith's new program. Christian Science Monitor. January 4, 2000. March 31, 2020.
  9. Web site: UVM names interim provost, interim business school dean, dean of graduate college . May 15, 2009. July 11, 2019.
  10. Sally Ride Toys With Engineering. Katie. Dean . Wired. September 28, 2002. July 11, 2019.
  11. Web site: UVM Appoints Engineering Pioneer Dean of College of Engineering and Mathematics. July 11, 2019.
  12. Web site: On paid leave, former University of Delaware provost takes new job. July 11, 2019.
  13. Web site: UVM Dean Dom Grasso named University of Delaware provost. January 30, 2013. July 11, 2019.
  14. Web site: University of Delaware names new provost . January 30, 2013 . July 11, 2019.
  15. Web site: UD provost to resign Oct. 15. Josh. Shannon. July 11, 2019.
  16. Web site: UD provost resigning. September 26, 2017. July 11, 2019.
  17. Web site: Grasso named UM Dearborn chancellor. July 11, 2019.
  18. Web site: Chancellor Grasso on the past — and his next — five years University of Michigan-Dearborn . 2023-02-23 . umdearborn.edu . en.
  19. Web site: AWWA Academic Achievement Awards . Association of Environmental Engineering Professors newsletter . 9 June 2020 . 4–5 . newsletter . September 1989.
  20. Web site: AEESP Fellows. AEESP . 9 June 2020.
  21. Web site: Career Achievement Award. AEHS Foundation . 9 June 2020.
  22. Web site: John Cabot University Education Excellence Awards. John Cabot University Annual Report Fiscal Year 2016 . 9 June 2020 . 22.
  23. Web site: ROBERT H. GODDARD ALUMNI AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT . Worcester Polytechnic Institute . 9 June 2020.
  24. Web site: Water Environment Federation Disinfection & Public Health Pioneer Award . 9 June 2020.
  25. Web site: New report addresses curbing climate change and sustainably supplying food, water, and energy . phys.org. July 17, 2019.
  26. Web site: Curbing Climate Change and Sustainably Supplying Food, Water, and Energy Among Top Challenges Environmental Engineering Can Help Address, New Report Says. www8.nationalacademies.org. July 17, 2019.
  27. News: Putting Art in STEM. Henry. Fountain . The New York Times. October 31, 2014. July 17, 2019.
  28. Web site: 9 questions with University of Michigan-Dearborn's new chancellor. Detroit Free Press. July 17, 2019.
  29. Web site: Environmental Engineering Science | Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.
  30. Book: Holistic Engineering Education: Beyond Technology. Domenico . Grasso. Melody. Burkins. July 17, 2010. Springer-Verlag. 10.1007/978-1-4419-1393-7. 978-1-4419-1392-0. July 17, 2019.
  31. Web site: Hazardous Waste Site Remediation . taylor & francis group . Routledge . 3 June 2020.
  32. Web site: Hazardous Waste Management .
  33. Web site: Engineering Chair Named to Two National Posts. www.smith.edu. July 17, 2019.
  34. Defining Engineering Thought. Domenico. Grasso . Kara M.. Callahan. Sandra. Doucett. 2004. International Journal of Engineering Education. 20 . 3. 412–415. July 17, 2019.
  35. Web site: Dr. Domenico Grasso . Rowan. University. EESD 2018 Conference. July 17, 2019.