Dr. Emir José Macari, Dean College of Engineering & Computer Science, California State University, Sacramento

Dr. Emir Jose Macari is Dean of Engineering and Computer Science at the California State University – Sacramento. Prior to this he was Dean of Science and Technology at the University of Texas at Brownsville. Dr. Macari worked at the National Science Foundation as Program Director of the Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology in 2001-02. Dr. Macari was the Chairman and Bingham C. Stewart Distinguished Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at LSU (1999-2001). In addition, he has been Associate Professor of Geosystems Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and Associate Professor and Director of the Civil Infrastructure Research Center at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. He has authored and co-authored more than 50 technical papers.

In 1992, Dr. Macari was awarded the Presidential Faculty Fellowship by President George Bush. In 1994, he contributed to the drafting of President Clinton’s science policy document " Science in the National Interest ". He is the recipient of numerous national and international honors for his contributions to science and engineering education and research, including being elected to the National Academy of Engineering of Mexico in 2003 and Mexican Academy of Science in 2006.

Dr. Macari received a Ph.D. degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1989 where he worked on a NASA sponsored project dealing with the Mechanical Behavior of Granular Materials at Low Effective Stress States and Under Reduced Gravity Environments.

Dr. Macari has been on the Board of Advisors of “ SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Latinos and Native Americans in Science),” Member of the Sigma Xi “The Scientific Research Society,” Strategic Planning Committee and the International Committee, Board of Advisors of the “Center for Science, Policy and Outcomes (CSPO),” Advisor to the “Center for Hemispherical Cooperation in Science and Engineering (Co-Hemis),” Board of Advisors of “Celebra La Ciencia”, Associate Editor of the International Journal on Natural Hazards and Infrastructure, Editorial Board of the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (ASCE-GeoInstitute), Member of the ASCE Engineering Mechanics Properties Committee. He is a member of the Taskforce charged with advising President Bush regarding the under-representations of Hispanics in the Federal Workforce.

Dr. Jean S. VanderGheynst Associate Dean for Undergraduate Study, College of Engineering Professor, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering University of California, Davis

Jean S. VanderGheynst is Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and serves as the Associate Dean for the College of Engineering at UC Davis. Her research emphasizes agricultural biotechnology and bioenergy production. Professor VanderGheynst teaches courses in engineering and industrial biotechnology. In 2005 she received the Young Educator Award from the Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers for outstanding teaching. Prior to obtaining her Ph.D. degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from Cornell University in 1997, Professor VanderGheynst worked as an environmental consultant at Galson, Inc. in Syracuse, N.Y. and in process and manufacturing engineering at Dow Corning Corporation in Midland, M.I. She has a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Syracuse University.