Announcing the Dr. William D. and Nancy W. Strecker Dean of the College of Engineering

October 29, 2025

Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon Community:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Burcu Akinci as the next Dr. William D. and Nancy W. Strecker Dean of the College of Engineering. Dr. Akinci, currently the head of the college’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will assume her role as dean on January 1, 2026. This appointment follows a comprehensive national search and the enthusiastic recommendation of the search committee, whose service throughout this process was invaluable.

A member of the CMU community for nearly 25 years, Dr. Akinci is an exceptional leader who brings the strategic vision, research impact and collaborative spirit necessary to lead the College of Engineering. As the former associate dean for research and a current department head, she has driven institutional growth by helping to establish the "moonshot initiative" that cultivates large-scale research centers, developing the college's strategic research direction, and increasing the value of new research awards.

As department head of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), Dr. Akinci has fostered a culture of collaboration, encouraging shared learning and the open exchange of ideas. She has established direct pipelines for meaningful engagement through initiatives such as the Industry Partnership Program, which connects students to opportunities at more than 20 leading engineering firms. Under her leadership, the department also expanded its academic portfolio, including CEE’s first online certificate program, AI Engineering - Digital Twins & Analytics, and a new interdisciplinary master’s degree in the emerging field of Civil and Computer Engineering in collaboration with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Dr. Akinci is an accomplished researcher whose work bridges computing and infrastructure management. She employs data-capture and sensing technologies as well as digital twin models to deliver cutting-edge solutions that make the built environment, facility operations and construction projects smarter, safer and more sustainable. She is a member of the National Academy of Construction, a distinguished member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2023, she was named a University Professor, the highest rank of distinction for faculty at Carnegie Mellon.

Dr. Akinci earned her bachelor's degree from Middle East Technical University, her MBA from Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, and her master's and doctoral degrees from Stanford University.

I extend my sincere gratitude to Interim Dean Vijayakumar Bhagavatula for his steadfast leadership of the College of Engineering during this transition period. I also thank the search committee, led by co-chairs Shelley Anna, vice provost for faculty and professor of chemical engineering in the College of Engineering, and José Moura, the Philip L. and Marsha Dowd University Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering, for their dedicated service.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Akinci and wishing her continued success as she leads the college into its next chapter.

Sincerely,

James H. Garrett Jr.
Provost and Chief Academic Officer