Dear UT Community,
I am pleased to announce that Dr. Maria Juenger has been appointed Interim Dean of the Graduate School, effective August 14. She succeeds Mark J. T. Smith, who is retiring this summer after serving as dean for the past six years.
Dr. Juenger is the L.B. (Preach) Meaders Professor of Engineering in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and was the Associate Dean for Graduate Education Transformation in the Graduate School from 2020 to 2022. She also served on the University’s Task Force for Graduate Education and as Chair of the Graduate Assembly. A UT faculty member since 2002, she has also served as Graduate Adviser, Graduate Studies Committee Chair, and Associate Chair in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering.
Dr. Juenger’s teaching and research examine chemical issues in cement-based materials and the interaction of cement-based materials and the environment. She is a fellow of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the American Ceramic Society and currently serves as Vice President of ACI. She has received numerous awards from ACI for her research, teaching, and service, including the Walter P. Moore, Jr. Faculty Achievement Award, the Delmar L. Bloem Distinguished Service Award, and the Concrete Sustainability Award.
She is a past recipient of the Faculty Early CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation and serves on the editorial boards of both the Cement and Concrete Research and Cement and Concrete Composites journals. She received a B.S. from Duke University and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University before serving as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.
I want to thank Dr. Juenger for leading the Graduate School until our national search for a permanent dean concludes. She cares deeply about our graduate students and their experience, and I look forward to working closely with her through the leadership transition.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Juenger on her appointment as Interim Dean and thanking Dean Smith for his exceptional service as dean since 2017.
Sincerely,
Sharon L. Wood
Executive Vice President and Provost