Gillespie Appointed to Named Professorship

John W. Gillespie Jr., who directs the University of Delaware’s internationally recognized Center for Composite Materials, has been named the Donald C. Phillips Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. With Gillespie's appointment, which was announced by UD Provost Dan Rich on September 9, 2005, CEE has four named professors.

"Jack is one of a handful of visionary leaders of the composite materials community in the United States,” said Dean Eric Kaler. "His research has opened up new areas of work, and his skill in leading the UD Center for Composite Materials to new heights has been phenomenal. His high research profile and dedicated leadership make him an ideal named professor."

Gillespie began to work with the civil engineering faculty during the early 1990s on an initiative to apply composite materials to bridge infrastructure. Since then, he has carried out several projects with colleagues from CEE's Center for Innovative Bridge Engineering, including one that culminated in the design, contruction, and erection of the nation's first all-composite deck on a state-owned bridge. He also contributed to the development of a strategic plan for the use of composites in infrastructure, and he is currently involved in the development of a hybrid composite beam in collaboration with the Bridge Center and Teng & Associates in Chicago.

"We're very pleased that Jack has been honored with a named professorship," said CEE Chair Michael J. Chajes. "He has made important contributions to our infrastructure research program, and his expertise in composites provides an important complement to our capabilities in the structures area."

Gillespie holds bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, all in mechanical engineering, from UD. He began working at the Center for Composite Materials in 1981 and holds joint appointments in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

The Phillips professorship is named for Donald C. Phillips, a 1948 alumnus who established a trust that has resulted in UD receiving approximately $1.6 million to support the Department of Civil Engineering. A portion of that money is being be used to endow the Donald C. Phillips Professorship in Civil Engineering.