Dr. Judy A. Raper, dean of engineering at Sydney University in New South Wales, Australia, will become chair of the chemical and biological engineering department at the University of Missouri-Rolla on Dec. 1.

Raper will replace Dr. Douglas Ludlow, who served seven years as chair. He will return to a full-time position as professor in the department.

"During her tenure at Sydney University, Dr. Raper has been responsible for a significant culture change with the faculty of engineering," says Dr. Robert Mitchell, dean of the UMR School of Engineering. "While maintaining excellent research performance, the entrance exam rankings of their engineering students have risen to the highest in New South Wales. She has increased emphasis on undergraduate teaching and continuous quality improvement."

Mitchell added that Raper recently undertook "a major benchmarking exercise" with the University of Michigan and instigated exchange programs with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in Mexico, and Niigata University in Japan.

Prior to her acceptance of the position at Sydney University in 1997, Raper served as professor of chemical engineering, head of the chemical engineering department and acting dean of the faculty of applied science at the University of New South Wales. She also served as lecturer in the chemical engineering department at the University of New Castle and as a post-doctoral research fellow at Cambridge University in England.

Raper earned a bachelor of engineering degree in chemical engineering in 1976 and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering in 1980 from the University of New South Wales. Her research interests include particle technology, droplets, sprays, aerosols, filtration and electrostatic effects.

"I am delighted to be joining the chemical engineering department at UMR and look forward to working with the students and faculty," Raper said. "For me it provides the opportunity to further my own research in the area of particle technology, to collaborate more closely with colleagues across the United States and join a close-knit community of scholars. I’m looking forward to it immensely."

Active in scholarship and research, Raper served as chair for the 4th World Congress on Particle Technology held in Sydney in 2002. She has been involved in policy formation and dissemination and change management at the national level through her work with the Australian Research Council. She is a member of the Particle Technology Forum, associated with the American Institute of Chemical Engineering, and is a fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia, Institution of Chemical Engineering (UK) and the Australian Institution of Mining and Metallurgy.