Appointment of Professor Yiannis Ventikos as Dean, Faculty of Engineering
Monash University is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Yiannis Ventikos as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, following an extensive international search process. He will commence in the role in February 2023.
Professor Ventikos will be joining Monash from University College London (UCL), where he is currently the Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Kennedy Professor of Mechanical Engineering.
An accomplished scholar, entrepreneur and senior university leader, Professor Ventikos brings an impressive breadth of research, teaching and enterprise experience across a broad range of engineering fields. He has made multidisciplinary contributions in engineering at the cross-sections of medicine, life-sciences, physics and applied mathematics, and has developed leadership expertise in elite tertiary settings.
As Head of UCL Mechanical Engineering for the past nine years, Professor Ventikos has applied his wide-ranging teaching, research and entrepreneurial expertise to successfully deliver vision, strategy and notable growth across multiple strands. These include significant increases in national and international rankings, staff numbers and budgets, prizes in national and international student competitions, Fellowships and Chairs in learned societies and HM Government honours. He has also incorporated into the Department major industrial partners in the research-education nexus.
Throughout his academic career, Professor Ventikos has pursued diverse research interests, driven by his genuine multidisciplinary approach. A fluid mechanician and naval architect by training, he is an internationally-recognised researcher in the fields of cerebral biomechanics, shock-bubble interaction problems, vascular and endothelial microscale biomechanics, and minimally invasive device design. He is widely published on core engineering, applied physics and applied mathematics themes, and on diverse subjects such as plasma physics, plant biology, neurology and molecular biophysics. His professional and academic experience spans three continents, six countries and seven universities.
Professor Ventikos articulates an authentic passion and ability for making significant contributions to Monash University’s ambitions towards addressing the global challenges of the age. His wealth of experience, combined with an aspiration to drive innovation and excellence, while working closely with government and industry, will be pivotal to the continued advancement of research and educational excellence in the Faculty – rated #1 in Australia for Engineering in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2023.
We extend a sincere thank you to Professor Chris Davies for his exceptional performance and leadership as Interim Dean of the Faculty during the appointment process and until Professor Ventikos commences next year.