Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Dr. Mark H. Weichold
Dean and CEO of Texas A&M Qatar
Dr. Mark H. Weichold is an electrical engineer and has worked for General Dynamics Ft. Worth Division, Motorola in Austin, TX and the U.S. Army Electronic Technology and Devices Laboratory in Ft. Monmouth, NJ. He joined the Electrical Engineering faculty at Texas A&M University in 1982 and now holds the title of Professor. His research interests include electron device fabrication process development, device design and characterization. He has authored more than 80 journal articles, conference papers and scientific reports and holds three US patents. At the University’s main campus, he served as the Dean of Undergraduate Programs and Associate Provost for Academic Services. In 2009, he was recognized as a Regents Professor for his outstanding work and exemplary contribution to Texas A&M University. In 2013, he was awarded the Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah International Energy Award for ‘Lifetime Achievement for the Advancement of Education’. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, a member of the American Physical Society, and a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas.
In January 2007, Dr. Weichold became Dean and CEO of Texas A&M University’s branch campus in Doha, Qatar. Since its inception, Texas A&M at Qatar has grown to more than 500 currently enrolled students, including 50 graduate students and over 80 faculty members. Of the more than 600 graduates, nearly half are Qatari nationals and 40% are female. Texas A&M at Qatar is also home to a dynamic research program with more than $160 million in cumulative funding that supports responsive research projects closely aligned with the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.
Dr. Weichold is a recognized expert in international engineering education, invited to speak at conferences and meetings in Canada, Greece, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and of course, Qatar. He has also held leadership positions in international conferences, forums, and symposiums including the International Petroleum Technology Conference, the Doha Carbon and Energy Forum, the Higher Education Leadership Asia Summit, the 19th International Conference on Neural Information Processing, the World Congress on Engineering Education, the SPE Intelligent Energy Conference, International Conference on Cognitive Radio Oriented Wireless Networks, and the IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference.
After completing nine years as the Dean and CEO of Texas A&M at Qatar, he returned to College Station and assumed the role of executive director of the Halliburton Global Engineering Program at Texas A&M University. In that role, he directs all aspects of overseas education related activities for the Dwight Look College of Engineering including identifying and developing opportunities for international experiential education, study abroad, international internships, and collaborative capstone design projects.