Published by the MIT News Office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.

Moses Named Dean of Engineering

SUCCEEDS WILSON
Moses Named Dean
Of Engineering

Professor Joel Moses, renowned for the development of MACSYMA, the 
largest computer system for symbolic algebraic manipulation, has been 
appointed dean of the School of Engineering, effective January 16.

Provost Mark S. Wrighton, who made the appointment, said "President 
Charles M. Vest and I share the view that Joel Moses will lead the 
School of Engineering with vigor, creativity and effectiveness. It is a 
privilege to be able to work with him."

Professor Moses, the Dugald C. Jackson Professor of Computer Science and 
Engineering, was head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and 
Computer Science from 1981 to 1989. As dean, he succeeds Dr. Gerald L. 
Wilson, the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical and Mechanical 
Engineering, who had been dean of engineering since 1981. Professor 
Wilson is currently on leave from MIT.

In announcing the appointment, Dr. Wrighton, the CIBA-GEIGY Professor of 
Chemistry, said that there were many strong candidates and that after 
careful evaluation he concluded "that Joel Moses represents the very 
best person for the School of Engineering and for the Institute." The 
provost said that Professor Moses' "achievements in research and 
educational activities establish him as an intellectual leader. He has 
the vision to initiate important new programs and the commitment to 
follow through on the exciting developments started under the guidance 
of Dean Wilson."

Professor Moses, a member of the faculty since 1967, is recognized for 
making significant contributions to both computer science and computer 
engineering. As a computer scientist, he is known for his work on the 
theory of algebraic manipulation algorithms in the areas of 
simplification and integration. As a computer systems engineer, 
Professor Moses is best known for applying his theoretical results to 
the development of MACSYMA, a system that enables computers to carry out 
exact differentiation and integration of complex expressions as well as 
symbolic solutions of equations.

For his contributions to research and education, Professor Moses was 
elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1986, a 
fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1987 and a fellow 
of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) in 1990.

A native of Israel, Professor Moses, 49, came to the United States in 
1954. He received the BA (1962) and the MA (1963) from Columbia 
University and the PhD (1967) from MIT, all in mathematics. He was 
appointed assistant professor in the Department of Electrical 
Engineering and Computer Science at MIT in 1967, associate professor in 
1971 and professor in 1977. From 1974 to 1978 he was associate director 
of the Laboratory for Computer Science and from 1978 to 1981 he was 
associate department head for computer science and engineering in the 
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. 

As head of that department, Professor Moses was responsible for more 
than 110 faculty members and about one-third of all MIT undergraduate 
students.

After completing his eight-year term as head of the department, 
Professor Moses was a visiting professor during the 1989-90 academic 
year at the Harvard Business School.

Professor Moses is a director of Analog Devices, Inc., a member of 
Stanford University's visiting committees for its School of Engineering 
and its Computer Science Department, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, 
Sigma Xi, the Association of Computing Machinery, the Scientific 
Advisory board of IMSL, Inc., (International Mathematical and 
Statistical Libraries Inc.), and the National Research Council's 
Manufacturing Studies Board. 

 Provost Wrighton said an advisory committee headed by Professor Steven 
R. Lerman of the Department of Civil Engineering assisted him in 
selecting the new dean.