Susan Lozier Named Dean of College of Sciences

Susan Lozier, Ronie-Richele Garcia-Johnson Distinguished Professor of Ocean Sciences at Duke University, has accepted the role of dean and Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair in the College of Sciences. She will officially assume the role no later than Oct. 1.

“We are so pleased to bring Dr. Lozier to Georgia Tech as dean of the College of Sciences,” said Rafael L. Bras, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs and K. Harrison Brown Family Chair. “She brings with her a rich history of leadership, but also a tremendous legacy as a mentor, colleague, researcher, and educator.”

Lozier has been a faculty member at Duke University since 1992. During her tenure at Duke, she has served in various leadership roles including department chair, faculty senate chair, vice provost for strategic planning, and co-chair of Duke’s effort to reimagine graduate education. She recently completed a term as the president of the Oceanography Society and, as of January 2019, is president-elect of the American Geophysical Union.

“I am thrilled to join Georgia Tech as the next dean for the College of Sciences,” said Lozier. “I look forward to working with the administration, faculty, staff, and students to continue the pursuit of both fundamental and convergent science, and to support mechanisms that encourage bold ideas, entrepreneurial efforts, and productive partnerships.”

Lozier’s research interests include large-scale ocean circulation and its impact on climate, meridional overturning circulation and its variability, pathways of ocean flow, and physical constraints on marine primary productivity. She is currently the international lead for an ocean observing system in the North Atlantic. Over her career, she has been the recipient of numerous awards. She was the recipient of an NSF Early Career Award in 1996, was awarded a Bass Chair for Excellence in Research and Teaching in 2000, and received a Duke University Award for Excellence in Mentoring in 2007, among others. She is an American Meteorological Society Fellow (2008), American Geophysical Union Fellow (2014), and American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow (2015).  She was awarded the American Geophysical Union Ambassador Award in 2016 for leadership in the ocean sciences community.  

She was one of three finalists in the international search for the dean of the College of Sciences. The search committee was chaired by Pinar Keskinocak, William W. George Chair in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Jennifer Herazy, chief administrative officer for Academic and Research Administration, served as search director. Following the departure of Dean Paul Goldbart, Professor David M. Collard has served as the interim dean since Aug. 1.

Lozier received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University and a master of science degree in chemical engineering and Ph.D. in physical oceanography from the University of Washington.

“Many thanks to the hard-working search committee who served under the leadership of Provost Bras, Dr. Keskinocak, and Dr. Herazy,” said. President G.P. “Bud” Peterson. “A special thanks also to Interim Dean Collard who has done a tremendous job during the leadership transition. The College has been in his very capable hands, and I know Dr. Lozier’s vision will allow us to continue to advance the goals of the College of Sciences and the Institute as a whole.”