Texas A&M at Qatar announces administrative leadership changes
Published Sep 03, 2014Dr. Mark H. Weichold, dean and CEO of Texas A&M University at Qatar, has announced several key administrative changes within the campus.
Dr. Eyad Masad has been named executive associate dean; Dr. Hassan Bazzi has been appointed assistant dean for research and graduate studies; and Dr. Hamid Parsaei is now director of Texas A&M at Qatar’s academic outreach.
These changes were effective 1 September, and Weichold said he believes they will further Texas A&M at Qatar’s efforts to achieve its mission and vision, focusing on effort, capability and experience.
As executive associate dean, Masad will report directly to the dean and CEO. His purview will include research and graduate studies, academics and student services, finance and administrative services, academic programs, and the library.
“Dr. Masad is a perfect fit for this position,” Weichold said, “as it relies upon his breadth of experience and talents as a leader in research, industry collaboration and academics. He has been a valued member of my administration in the growth and development of the branch campus’ programs and industry partnerships, and he will be a valuable resource in Texas A&M at Qatar’s future.”
Masad was previously assistant dean for research and graduate studies. He is a professor in the Mechanical Engineering Program at Texas A&M at Qatar and in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M. His research focuses on microstructure characterization and constitutive modeling of materials; transport in porous media; granular mechanics; and image analysis techniques. He has published more than 300 technical papers and reports.
Masad is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a member of the American Society for Engineering Education, Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists and Transportation Research Board. He currently serves as associate editor of two major journals: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering and International Journal of Pavement Engineering.
As assistant dean for research and graduate studies, Bazzi will oversee research services and administration, quality assurance, research instrumentation, research computing, graduate studies and continuing education.
“Dr. Bazzi’s strategic vision and leadership of the Science Program and its dynamic research initiatives — as well as his successful outreach to leaders in academia and industry partners — is unparalleled in our community,” Weichold said. “His accomplishments in research, as well as his academic achievement, will serve Texas A&M at Qatar well and support our efforts to expand future industry and academic synergies and engagement.”
Bazzi was previously the chair of the Science Program from 2006 to 2014 where he oversaw the chemistry, physics and mathematics programs. He helped establish and build the Science Program at Texas A&M at Qatar, managing the setup of the freshman chemistry and physics teaching labs, as well as the research and instrumentation labs. He was instrumental in creating and filling the first two chair positions at Texas A&M at Qatar, and in recruiting Dr. Robert H. Grubbs, Nobel laureate in chemistry 2005, as an adjunct professor — and the first Nobel laureate with an academic affiliation in Qatar.
Bazzi’s research interests focus on metathesis chemistry as a powerful tool in small molecule and polymer synthesis, in addition to polymer-supported catalysis, DNA-mimetic polymers, and fluorous analogs of ruthenium based catalysts. He has secured approximately $10 million in external research funding, and his group has reported novel polymer supported metathesis catalysts that can be recycled and recovered. He is co-author of a U.S. patent application — the first patent at Texas A&M at Qatar — detailing the synthesis and applications of these systems. He has been author and co-author on more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and 80 conference presentations.
Parsaei is now the director of Texas A&M at Qatar’s academic outreach, a vital position in which he will lead the its academic, engineering education and STEM outreach efforts, as well as its accreditation requirements, such as with ABET.
“Dr. Parsaei has shown a great talent and passion for outreach to the community, its youth and educators through high-value scenarios and service programs,” Weichold said. “This outreach directly influences education in Qatar and the quality of Texas A&M at Qatar’s future students. His efforts have placed us at the forefront of these activities in Qatar and leveraging Hamid’s guidance in this area will drive Texas A&M at Qatar’s leadership in the community and the enrichment of Qatar’s greatest natural resource — its people.”
Parsaei is a professor in the mechanical engineering program at Texas A&M at Qatar and was previously associate dean for academic affairs at Texas A&M at Qatar. He also is a professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Texas A&M.
Parsaei established three peer-refereed international journals and served as their editor-in-chief for several years, and was also area editor, associate editor and member of the editorial board for several scholarly peer-refereed journals. He has published more than 180 articles in refereed journals, conference proceedings and edited books, and established and edited a six-book series more than two decades. He has advised and co-advised more than 60 Ph.D. dissertations, M.S. theses and M.Eng. reports. Parsaei a fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and the American Society of Engineering Education. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, and Alpha Pi Mu, the industrial engineering honor society, and was the director of the Engineering Economy Division of Institute of Industrial Engineers. He is a registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) in the state of Texas.