Andrew Szeri named Operational Excellence program head

Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost George Breslauer, and Vice Chancellor Frank Yeary issued the following announcement.

Andrew Szeri (Peg Skorpinski photo)

BERKELEY — We are pleased to announce that Andrew Szeri, professor of Mechanical Engineering and dean of the Graduate Division, has agreed to serve as the faculty program head for Operational Excellence.  He will assume this role immediately, replacing Al Pisano who recently resigned due to personal reasons.

Andrew is ideally suited to this position having been very active in the Operational Excellence (OE) work since last year.  Most recently, he has been the faculty lead for the Information Technology initiative of OE.

He will continue to serve as dean of the Graduate Division in addition to his duties on Operational Excellence.

Andrew has been on the Berkeley campus since 1997.  He joined as an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and became a full professor in 2003.  Since then, Andrew has also served the campus as the associate dean in the Graduate Division and presently as the dean.

While both positions require full time dedication and focus, Andrew will rely heavily on his associate deans and senior staff to conduct the day-to-day duties of the Graduate Division to maintain the momentum underway and ensure continuous operations in this critical area on our campus.

We are very excited about Andrew’s appointment and look forward to a smooth transition under his capable leadership.