John Papapolymerou will be recommended to the Michigan State University Board of Trustees to serve as the interim dean of MSU’s College of Engineering, effective Oct. 1. Pending board approval, he will succeed Leo Kempel, who has served as dean since 2014.
During Kempel’s time in the leadership role, the College of Engineering grew stronger as a community and has been an engine for economic development, both locally and globally. The college’s faculty and student populations both expanded, and the college welcomed two new departments: Biomedical Engineering and Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering (jointly with the College of Natural Science), as well as a new undergraduate program, Technology Engineering. The college also appointed its first associate dean for inclusion and diversity in 2018. It far exceeded its most recent capital campaign goal, which resulted in new planned or funded endowed professorships and chair positions.
'I am grateful for Dean Kempel’s substantive contributions to the College of Engineering and Michigan State University over the years,” said MSU Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Thomas Jeitschko. “I appreciate Dr. Papapolymerou’s willingness to step into the interim dean role, as well as his knowledge about, leadership experience within and familiarity with the college, all of which will provide stability and continuity during this time of transition.”
An MSU Research Foundation Professor, Papapolymerou currently serves as the director of the MSU Space Electronics Initiative. Prior to that, he served for nine years as chairperson of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, or ECE. As ECE chair, he worked effectively with faculty, staff, students, college and university administrators, industry, alumni and other groups to significantly expand the department and its activities while supporting and advancing a diverse and equitable environment. He participated as a fellow in the 2018-19 Big Ten Academic Leadership Program and in the 2016 Committee on Institutional Cooperation Department Executive Officer Program. He served as co-chair of the New Chairs Workshop of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association from 2020-24.
“Dr. Papapolymerou is a respected leader within our college and has my full support,” said Kempel. “He has the experience needed to lead us at this exciting time in our history.
A fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Papapolymerou’s research interests are in the areas of radio frequency/microwave/mm-wave/terahertz circuits, antennas and packaging for wireless communication systems, sensors and radars. He served as editor-in-chief for the scientific journal IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters from 2012-15. He has supervised to graduation 32 doctoral students and has advised more than 50 postdoctoral fellows and graduate and undergraduate students throughout his career. He has authored or co-authored over 450 publications in peer-reviewed journals and conferences and holds six U.S. patents. Papapolymerou is also the co-founder of two start-ups in the RF electronics and flexible antennas areas. His research has been supported by federal sponsors as well as industry, and he has been the recipient of multiple awards over the years. He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan and his bachelor’s degree from the National Technical University of Athens, in Greece.
“It will be my honor to serve the college faculty, staff, students and alumni in this role,” said Papapolymerou. “Dean Kempel’s leadership positioned us to offer outstanding educational pathways, avenues for innovative research and a focus on a robust talent pipeline to support our industry partners and economy. I look forward to working with our Spartan Engineering community to sustain that momentum.”
A national search for the next College of Engineering dean will begin in the fall.
