George Nnanna has been tapped to serve as the founding director of the UMSL School of Engineering. Nnanna was the founding dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Texas Permian Basin as well as the director of its Texas Water and Energy Institute. He will begin his new position on April 1. (Photo courtesy of George Nnanna)
George Nnanna, a professor of mechanical engineering with more than a decade of administrative experience and a record of research collaboration with government and industry partners, will serve as the founding director of the new School of Engineering at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. He will begin his new position on April 1.
Nnanna was the founding dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Texas Permian Basin from 2018 to 2023 and more recently has been the director of its Texas Water and Energy Institute in Midland, Texas.
He will be tasked with helping grow the UMSL School of Engineering, which will welcome its first cohort of engineering students next fall into ABET-accredited Bachelor of Science degree programs in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering.
“Dr. Nnanna’s expertise in research, teaching and service is a perfect fit for UMSL’s founding director,” said Steven J. Berberich, UMSL’s vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost. “He is passionate about transforming the lives of our students and will engage with industry leaders to ensure that the new UMSL School of Engineering is meeting the workforce needs of the St. Louis region.”
Nnanna was integral in building the College of Engineering at UTPB, leading the development of new academic programs, including new undergraduate programs in civil, chemical and electrical engineering and the creation of an accelerated master’s program as well as graduate certificates in engineering project management and data science in engineering. He hired 15 new tenure and nontenure track faculty members and established two external advisory boards, comprised of industry leaders as well as academics and municipal government leaders, to serve both the College of Engineering and the Texas Water and Energy Institute.
Working with the UTPB’s president and university advancement, Nnanna also played a key role in raising nearly $10 million for the College of Engineering as well as facilitating the completion of its new $55 million Engineering Building.
Under his leadership, the college has integrated experiential and service learning in its academic curriculum, and the job placement rate for UTPB’s engineering graduates has been in the top five among 40 institutions in the state of Texas while the university has also climbed in national engineering rankings.
He will look to make similar strides while growing the UMSL School of Engineering alongside the existing UMSL/Washington University Joint Undergraduate Engineering Program, which has a more than 30-year history of training civil, electrical and mechanical engineers for the St. Louis workforce.
The state of Missouri directed an initial capital investment of $15 million to the university to support the planning, design and construction of labs, classrooms and student community spaces in the Science Complex that will be used to train more engineering students. Additionally, the UMSL School of Engineering recently received an $8 million grant from the James S. McDonnell Foundation to support the hiring of new faculty to teach and engage with St. Louis industry as well as fund immediate and endowed scholarships for students now and in the future.
“I am thrilled to join UMSL at this pivotal moment,” Nnanna said. “The university has embarked on an inspiring journey to transform lives and serve as a catalyst for socioeconomic mobility. It is an honor to contribute to this transformation. The School of Engineering, in collaboration with our dedicated faculty, industry partners, and community stakeholders, will play a crucial role in broadening participation in the STEM ecosystem and preparing a diverse workforce to drive regional and state economic growth. We aim to significantly advance UMSL’s strategic initiatives in recruitment, retention, interdisciplinary research, innovation, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy while actively engaging our students in meaningful experiential learning opportunities.”
Before going to UTPB, Nnanna spent 16 years as a faculty member at Purdue University Calumet and Purdue University Northwest. He rose to the rank of professor of mechanical engineering and served as the department head for mechanical and civil engineering.
Nnanna’s research expertise includes advanced topics such as produced water brought to the surface during oil and gas production; the development of plasmonic metasurface nanostructures for solar energy harvesting, steam generation and water purification; and the innovation in micro-heat exchangers and mini refrigerators for cooling electronics. He has received more than $14 million in external grants, including from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program.
He also holds seven U.S. patents and has authored more than 70 articles in refereed journals and conference proceedings.
Nnanna earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Texas Tech University and went on to receive both a master’s degree and PhD in mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington. He also completed executive leadership programs at the University of Oxford and Harvard University’s Institute for Management and Leadership in Education.
