McCombe Named Dean of UB College of Arts and Sciences

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Bruce D. McCombe, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Physics and longtime UB administrator who most recently served as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, has been named dean of the college after a national search.

McCombe's appointment, which is effective immediately, was announced by President John B. Simpson and Satish K. Tripathi, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

McCombe succeeds Uday P. Sukhatme, who left UB last summer to become executive vice chancellor and dean of the faculties at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

"This is simply an outstanding outcome for UB," Simpson said of McCombe's appointment. "Out of a large national pool of impressive candidates, Professor McCombe emerged as a truly ideal fit for the university. His scholarly achievements, administrative contributions and professional experience are of unparalleled quality, and would make him an outstanding asset to any major research university.

"Bruce adds to this a deep and complex understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing this particular university," he said. "Having played an integral role in the university's growth over the past 25 years, both as a distinguished faculty member and superb academic administrator, he has a keen understanding of our institution's history. Even more importantly, he has the innovative vision and demonstrated leadership that will help to shape the university's future," Simpson added.

Tripathi noted that in working with McCombe over the past 2½ years -- first as vice provost and dean of the Graduate School and for the past eight months as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences -- "I am able to say, unequivocally, that Bruce possesses those rare qualities of the exceptional academic leader."

"Being able to see beyond the here and now, Bruce has the ability to harness and build upon the intellectual energy and expertise of our university's many constituents -- faculty, students, staff, deans, vice presidents, alumni and friends -- and hence is able to chart a course designed to fulfill the promise of a vibrant future," he said. "We are delighted that Bruce has accepted this university leadership role and I truly look forward to working together to realize our shared vision of academic excellence."

Robert Daly, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences, and chair of the search committee, said McCombe "has a long and impressive record as a citizen of the university, willing and able to work toward goals that go well beyond the personal and departmental."

"He has a long and steady commitment to excellence, both in his own work and in the work of every group to which he has belonged," Daly said.

In addition, McCombe has "the professional achievements to earn the respect of the faculty, both in his own field and in others; the administrative experience to understand and direct a large and various college; and the personal skills to learn from students, faculty and friends of the university and, in turn, to influence their thinking in genuinely reciprocal conversations," he said.

McCombe, who joined the UB physics faculty in 1982, has served in a variety of administrative posts, including associate chair and chair of the physics department, co-director of the Center for Electronic and Electro-Optic Materials, deputy director for the New York State Institute for Superconductivity, associate dean for research and sponsored programs for the College of Arts and Sciences and vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School. He currently is director for the Center for Advanced Photonic and Electronic Materials (CAPEM), and has been interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences since July 1.

He also is director of UB's Center for Spin Effects and Quantum Information in Nanostructures, and holds an appointment as an adjunct professor of electrical engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Prior to coming to UB, he was head of the Electronics Technology Division of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.

An internationally recognized scholar, McCombe's research interests are in the general area of semiconductor physics, particularly optical, infrared and far infrared spectroscopy of semiconductor nanostructures, and spin-dependent properties of semiconductors for spintronics applications.

A fellow of the American Physical Society, he is the author or co-author of more than 220 articles in refereed journals and refereed conference proceedings. Former editor of Physica E: Low Dimensional Systems and Nanostructures, he has presented more than 200 invited talks at national and international conferences and workshops, and has organized or co-organized three international conferences and several international workshops and symposia.

He has been a visiting professor at Institut National des Champs Magnetiques Pulses; INSA; Université Paul Sabbatier in Toulouse, France; Gastprofessor at the Institut für Physik, Montanuniversitüt Leoben, Leoben, Austria; and an NRC-CIAR (Canadian Institute for Advanced Science) distinguished visiting scientist at the Institute for Microstructural Sciences, National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa. He was a visiting scientist at the Max-Planck Institut fuer Festkoerperforschung, Stuttgart, Germany; the Institute for Applied Physics, University of Hamburg, Germany; the Grenoble High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Grenoble, France; the Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University; the National Pulsed Magnet Laboratory at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia; and the Pulsed High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Univesité Paul Sabbatier, Toulouse, France.

A native of Sanford, Maine, McCombe earned a bachelor's degree in physics, cum laude, from Bowdoin College and a doctorate in solid-state physics from Brown University.