Aug. 26, 2025

Dear Friends, Alumni and Colleagues, 

Hello! I’m excited and honored to serve as dean of the University of Nevada, Reno College of Engineering. I join UNR from Oregon State University, where I was school head of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. As I step into this new role, I’m especially grateful to Dr. Indira Chatterjee for her outstanding stewardship of the college over the past 18 months. 

Since early August, I’ve enjoyed getting to know the university and college leadership, and I look forward to meeting more of the college faculty and staff, students and supporters in the months ahead. I am very thankful for the generous donations that allow us to launch new programs, open new facilities and support our community as we pursue excellence together. 

As you know, this college has much to celebrate as well as amazing potential! This fall, we launch the George W. Gillemot Aerospace Program as well as a new robotics master’s degree program. Last spring saw the grand opening of the Nanofabrication Lab in the Davidson Foundation Cleanroom and last fall, the college debuted a new industrial engineering program. Those enterprises represent new opportunities for our students and faculty, and I commend those who endeavored to make those programs a reality. 

As you read through this newsletter, you’ll find other examples of our college’s excellence. So far this year, three of our junior faculty have received the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award: Dr. Floriana Petrone, Dr. Maryam Raeeszadeh-Sarmazdeh and Dr. Elnaz Seylabi. Learn about our new podcast, Engineered to Ask, featuring faculty takes on today’s technology. And delve into a few of our faculty and student achievements in our “College News” section.

I also want to recognize our Corporate Partners, the select group of companies that work with us to bring a competitive edge to our college. Those are Bently Nevada, Mark IV Capital, Nevada Energy, Nevada National Security Sites and Xandex. We greatly appreciate your support.

The future holds so much promise for our college, and I am thrilled to embark on this journey with all of you. Go Pack!

Sincerely, 

Tom Weller,
Dean, College of Engineering

EDITOR'S NOTE:  For more on Dean Tom Weller, please visit Dean Weller's faculty profile page.