UTC Dean to Step Down, Pursue Research
By Kelly Proctor, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.
May 2–The dean of UTC’s College of Engineering and Computer Science said he will change positions within the college to pursue research on alternative transportation.
Ronald Bailey will have been dean three years when he steps down Aug. 16.
“I’m a researcher at heart,” said Dr. Bailey, who will become Guerry Professor of Engineering. “This is a great time for a student to know something about energy conversion … as we deal with climate change.”
Dr. Bailey said he will be principal investigator for a grant recently secured from the Federal Transit Administration.
The research will have local implications: It is a “short-term possibility,” he said, to have Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority buses powered by hydrogen fuel cells or some other ecologically friendly combination.
Researchers also will work with a mile-long test track off Amnicola Highway that the Tennessee Valley Authority used for testing vehicles with new technology and alternative energy.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga earlier this year received $852,000 of a nearly $1 million grant to develop alternative fuels and transportation systems. UTC will work with the Chattanooga-based Advanced Transportation Technology Institute on the project.
UTC Provost Herbert Burhenn said that after a “fairly informal” search for an interim dean, a replacement for Dr. Bailey should be in position by Aug. 1. Dr. Burhenn declined to release the names of candidates, but he noted the interim dean would be in office for about a year at least before a permanent replacement is found.
Dr. Bailey earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from North Carolina State University and a Ph.D. at the University of Southampton, England, according to a resume on UTC’s Web site. He also worked for the IBM Corp. for 12 years.
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