Delia Milliron has accepted the appointment of Anthony C. Lembke Department Chair of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, effective August 25, 2025.
Delia joined the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering in 2013, and most recently held the position as the Ernest Cockrell, Sr. Chair in Engineering #1 and the Bill L. Stanley Endowed Leadership Chair, having served four and a half years as department chair.
Dave Allen, the Norbert Dittrich-Welch Chair in Chemical Engineering, has agreed to serve as interim chair effective August 1st. Dave came to the Forty Acres over 30 years ago from UCLA where he served as department chair. At UT Austin, he has been director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Resources and served as co-director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Systems Analysis. Dave is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and has administrative experience, technical excellence, and international standing to lead the department until a 4-year chair is appointed.
Delia’s discoveries in nanoscience, materials chemistry and energy technology have led to pivotal advances in tunable metal oxide nanocrystals and their synthesis and application. As chair, she recruited and mentored world-class junior faculty with expertise in bioengineering, process systems, and materials. She successfully guided Texas ChE through the uncertainties of a global pandemic and the department community’s return to in-person classes and activities. Delia informed the design of interactive learning and research spaces in our new Engineering Discovery Building, with construction nearing completion in the fall of 2026. During her tenure as chair, the graduate and undergraduate programs have continued to rank in the Top 10 nationwide, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Former department chair and Academy of Distinguished Chemical Engineers member Tom Truskett is also leaving for the University of Michigan in August. Tom has been an exemplary teacher, researcher, and leader in our department for more than 20 years. He will continue his work developing computational and theoretical models that look to understand the behavior of liquids, solids and soft materials. He and his wife, Van Truskett, also a Fellow of the Academy, are both Texas ChE alums.
We hope you will join us in thanking both Delia Milliron and Tom Truskett for their dedication to the department and wishing them much success in their new endeavors.
