The College of Engineering extends a warm welcome to Albert P. “Al” Pisano, professor and chair of mechanical engineering, as he steps in as acting dean this spring semester. Dean S. Shankar Sastry will be on leave to join his spouse, EECS professor Claire Tomlin, at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm to pursue research and teaching interests. David Dornfeld will serve as acting chair of ME during this same period.

Pisano, the FANUC Chair of Mechanical Systems in ME and professor of EECS, joined the College in 1983. His research is carried out in Berkeley’s MEMS Analysis and Design Laboratory, which specializes in cutting-edge research in micro electromechanical systems, known as MEMS. Also a director of the Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center and former director of the Electronics Research Laboratory, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2001.

“This is a big responsibility, and I’m honored,” Pisano said. “My vision is fully aligned with Dean Sastry’s, and there will be no loss of forward momentum. We’ll be striving for innovation and impact regardless of the budget outlook.” Pisano will work closely with College of Engineering faculty, staff, students and external stakeholders to continue progress on all fronts, focusing on strategic priorities in energy, health and educating engineers for leadership.

Pisano received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Columbia University and previously held research positions with Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Singer Sewing Machines Corporate R&D Center and General Motors Research Labs. He also served as program manager for the MEMS program at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). His research interests include MEMS for a wide variety of applications, including RF components, power generation, drug delivery, strain sensors, biosensors and disk-drive actuators. He is listed as co-inventor on 20 patents in MEMS, has authored or co-authored more than 190 publications and founded five startups in transdermal drug delivery, transvascular drug delivery, sensorized catheters, MEMS manufacturing equipment and MEMS RF devices. He has graduated 33 Ph.D. and 64 M.S. students since 1983.

Acting Dean Pisano may be contacted at appisano@coe.berkeley.edu. The Dean’s Office remains at 320 McLaughlin Hall MC 1700, (510) 642-5771.