Reza Abbaschian

Reza Abbaschian is Director of Winston Chung Global Energy Center, Distinguished Professor, and Winston Chung Endowed Professor in Sustainability at University of California Riverside (UCR). He began his tenure as UCR in September 2005 as Dean of the Bourns College of Engineering (BCOE), a position which he held until July 2016. He also held the William R. Johnson, Jr. Professor until July 2017. During his tenure as Dean, BCOE steadily grew in prestige, research productivity, and student success, landing in the top 50 public engineering schools in the nation. With around 125 faculty, 2,400 undergraduates (100 BS/MS), 750 graduate students (509 PhD and 239 MS), and annual research expenditures of more than $40 million, BCOE now houses seven departments/programs and offers nine degrees in addition to a self-supporting Online Master’s Degree Program in Engineering. Dr. Abbaschian received his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, MS in metallurgical engineering from Michigan Technological University, and BSc in mining and metallurgy from Tehran University. He has published more than 250 scientific articles including eight books on subjects ranging from metal processing to composites and high temperature-high pressure growth of jewelry diamonds. His research has led to the introduction of man-made diamonds to the market by Gemesis Diamond Company. He also holds five patents and eight patent disclosures held by Gemesis Inc. Dr. Abbaschian is a past President of ASM International, the largest materials society. He has been elected a Fellow of ASM, TMS and AAAS. His awards include the TMS Educator Award, Structural Material Division’s Distinguished Scientist/Engineer Award, TMS Leadership Award, ASEE Donald E. Marlowe Award, Davis Productivity Award of the State of Florida, and the 2016 Albert Sauveur Achievement Award of ASM. In 2017, he was given the AIME Honorary Membership, an honor bestowed on only 1/10th of 1% of its membership, in recognition of being an "outstanding scientist and researcher in solidification fundamentals and materials processing, educator and leader in advancing the materials profession."