Contact: Phil Hearn
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A longtime administrator at North Carolina State University will succeed retiring James C. Harden as head of the electrical and computer engineering department at Mississippi State later in the year.
Sarah Rajala, a professor and associate dean of N.C. State's College of Engineering, will also become holder of the university's James W. Bagley Endowed Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering following Harden's December departure.
A member of the MSU faculty since 1985, Harden has served as ECE head since 2003.
"We are very excited about having Sarah coming to MSU," said agricultural and biological engineering department head Bill Batchelor, who chaired the search committee. "She represents the high-quality personnel who have been joining our faculty in recent years. She'll be a great asset to electrical and computer engineering."
Rajala's husband, Jim Aanstoos, also will join the university in July as an associate research professor with the GeoResources Institute.
"The ECE department at MSU is well-recognized for its strong academic programs, the quality of its faculty and the strong support of its alumni," said Rajala. "I look forward to working with this dedicated and enthusiastic faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Together, we can move the department to even greater heights."
Rajala has served as associate dean for research and graduate programs at the NCSU engineering college since 2002. Earlier, she served as the university's associate dean for academic affairs, and director of the Center for Advanced Computing and Communication. She also is an adjunct associate professor for the department of radiology at Wake Forest University's Bowman Gray School of Medicine.
"I am very pleased that we were able to attract Dr. Rajala to MSU," said Kirk Schulz, dean of the Bagley College of Engineering. "She will bring a wealth of experience as an administrator and scholar."
Rajala earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Michigan Technological University in 1974, and master's and doctoral degrees from Rice University in 1977 and 1979, respectively.
She was appointed a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 2001, and also was named Outstanding Engineering Educator for the IEEE Southeastern Section. She has published widely and is a member of several professional societies.
The MSU college and endowed chair (or professorship) in electrical and computer engineering were named in honor of James Worth Bagley. The MSU alumnus and Texas resident, and wife Jean, have made many generous gifts to the college.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information, contact Courtney Thompson at (662) 325-0105 or cthompson@engr.msstate.edu.