Published by the MIT News Office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Published by the MIT News Office at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
LITSTER NAMED Smith Resigns Posts; Returns to Teaching Professor Kenneth A. Smith, associate provost since 1980 and vice president for research since 1981, has resigned those positions and his role as director of MIT's Whitaker College of Health Sciences and Technology. In the spring semester he will teach 10.50, Analysis of Transport Phenomena, in the Department of Chemical Engineering where he is the Edwin R. Gilliland Professor. Provost Mark S. Wrighton, who praised Professor Smith for his "significant contributions to MIT during a decade of service in two crucially important administrative posts," announced the appointment of Professor J. David Litster as interim associate provost and vice president for research and director of Whitaker College, effective Jan. 16. Professor Litster, director of the Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory, is a member of the Department of Physics. "Professor Smith has been responsible for on-campus research, which this year amounted to about $300 million, during a decade of significant change in both the sources of research funding and in public and governmental perception of what is an appropriate role for a university. As a frequent and effective spokesman for MIT, he has articulated clearly the nature of a research university and the important linkage between education and research. Internally, although it is the lot of provosts and associate provosts to have to say 'no' quite often, his natural commitment to consensus building and leadership in making difficult decisions understandable was always readily apparent and was highly appreciated," Professor Wrighton said. Professor Litster, widely recognized for his work in phase transitions and statistical mechanics, has been director of the Magnet Laboratory since 1988. For five years before that he was director of the Center for Materials Science and Engineering. Professor Litster has been a member of the National Research Council's Solid State Sciences Panel since 1986 and regional editor of Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals since 1986. His honors include being a fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Physical Society. A native of Toronto, Dr. Litster, 52, received the B.Eng (Engineering Physics) from McMaster University in 1961 and the PhD from MIT in 1965. The next year he joined the faculty here as an assistant professor of physics, became associate professor in 1971 and professor in 1975. From 1970 to 1983 he headed the Division of Condensed Matter, Atomic and Plasma Physics in the Department of Physics. Professor Smith received the SB, SM and ScD in chemical engineering from MIT in 1958, 1959 and 1962, respectively, and he later held an NSF postdoctoral appointment at the University of Cambridge. A member of the faculty since 1961, he was acting head of the Department of Chemical Engineering in 1976-77 and Joseph R. Mares Professor of Chemical Engineering from 1978-81. He is an expert in fluid mechanics and heat and mass transfer and has also published extensively in the areas of polymer characterization, desalination, liquified natural gas processing and biomedical engineering. His contributions to these fields were recognized by election to the National Academy of Engineering in 1983.