Fulay to step down after seven years as associate dean of research at WVU’s Statler College

Pradeep Fulay (WVU Photo/Paige Nesbit)

Pradeep Fulay, associate dean of research in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University, will step down from his administrative post of seven years, effective Dec. 31, 2019.

By Olivia Miller
Communications Specialist

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Fulay was appointed to the position in May 2012 to lead the College’s faculty in research, research program development, intellectual property and commercialization activities.

During his tenure, faculty members have won numerous awards including NSF CAREER awards, Presidential Early CAREER Awards and have beenappointed to the National Academy of Inventors.

“The best part has been being able to see how far we have come from not having an office of research to now witnessing the unprecedented successes of our faculty,” Fulay said. “It has been a pleasure to work with faculty across the College and also across campus.”

Between May 2012 and December2019, 224 new awards were received totaling $66,421,139.

“When I started working with Pradeep almost six years ago the office was relatively new,” said Kathleen Cullen, coordinator of development of major and interdisciplinary research initiatives. “The faculty weren’t accustomed to having a research office in the College, but over the past six years we have worked together to make it a service oriented office for the benefit of the College’s faculty.”

In addition tofacilitating proposals and grants, Fulay served as a mentor to new faculty, gave administrative support for larger research programs and facilitated interdisciplinary programs within the College and across campus.

An example of his efforts are highlighted in a recent $4 million project funded by NSF in collaboration with WVU Health Sciences to expand research efforts in the use of artificial intelligence in health care.

“Dr. Fulay was one of the primary drivers of this project,” said Donald Adjeroh, professor and associate chair in the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. “He has championed the need for closer collaboration on digital health between the Statler College and WVU Health Sciences.”

Before his arrival to WVU, Fulay received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, with honors, from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, India. He earned a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of Arizona.

Upon graduation, he joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, where his research and teaching interests focused primarily in the area of the science of chemical synthesis and processing of smart materials and structures. Fulay’s research in the area of synthesis and processing of electronic and magnetic materials has been recognized internationally.

Fulay is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society. He has several publications in reputed journals and conference proceedings, three U.S. issued patents and has edited one book. He is the author of the textbook, “Electronic, Magneticand Optical Properties of Materials,” published in 2010, and co-author of the fifth edition of “The Science of Engineering of Materials,” a leading undergraduate textbook of materials science.

Upon stepping down, Fulay will return to the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and contribute to the College’s mission as a faculty member.

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