Two Departments Engage New Leaders
Mario Romero-Ortega was selected through a nationwide search to head the Department of Biomedical Engineering, beginning with the fall 2023 semester.
Romero-Ortega will join the College of Engineering from the University of Houston, where he serves in the College of Engineering as a Cullen Endowed Professor of Biomedical Engineering and directs the undergraduate BME program. He is also a professor of biomedical sciences at the Tilman Fertitta J. Family College of Medicine.
His growth vision encompasses accelerating engineering in medicine innovation and empowering student startups.
Ricardo Valerdi was selected as head of the Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering following a national search after serving as interim head for the most recent academic year.
Valerdi came to the College of Engineering in 2011 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2020, he was recognized by the University of Arizona as a Distinguished Outreach Professor. He has also served as an ombudsman and is the University of Arizona’s faculty athletics representative to the PAC-12 and NCAA.
Amongst Valerdi’s top priorities is the expansion of software engineering, the newest addition of the department’s four degree programs.