John Coulter, associate RCEAS dean,is named interim dean of the college

John Coulter, associate dean for graduate studies and research in the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, has been appointed interim dean of the college.
Coulter, a professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics, will serve as dean until a permanent dean is named to replace Mohamed S. El-Aasser, who became Lehigh's provost and vice president for academic affairs on Nov. 1.
A committee headed by Anne Meltzer, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, is in the process of searching for a successor to El-Aasser.
Coulter, who has served as RCEAS associate dean since January 2002, joined the faculty in 1990. He conducts research in manufacturing science and intelligent mechanical and material systems.
In one project, Coulter and his graduate students have developed an innovative way of using computers to control the flow of the molten polymer that is injected into a mold cavity and then cools and solidifies into a desired shape.
In another project, Coulter used a software-directed device that vibrates molten plastic in an injection mold to produce plastic products that are stronger and more environmentally beneficial. The process enables manufacturers to recycle once-useless and environmentally unfriendly plastic, and still produce stronger products than those made using new plastic that is not vibrated.
Coulter has received Lehigh's Robinson Award for Junior Faculty Achievement, along with two curriculum innovation awards from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a Future Technology Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers.
He is a recipient of both the National Young Investigator and the Presidential Faculty Fellowship awards from the National Science Foundation.