Nicholas J. Altiero, PhD
Dean of Science and Engineering
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Tulane University
Lindy Claiborne Boggs Center for Energy and Biotechnology, Suite 201
New Orleans, LA 70118-5674
Telephone: (504) 865-5764
Fax: (504) 862-8747
E-mail: altiero@tulane.edu
Dr. Altiero received a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1969 and a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering in 1970, a Master of Arts degree in mathematics in 1971 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in aerospace engineering in 1974 from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Following postdoctoral appointments at the University of Michigan and at the Department of the Interior’s Twin Cities Research Center, he joined the faculty of the Materials Science and Mechanics department at Michigan State University in 1975. At Michigan State, he advanced through the faculty ranks to the rank of Professor in 1986 and, in 1990, he was named the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies of the College of Engineering, where he had administrative responsibility for the research, technology transfer, graduate studies and distance education operations of the college. In January 1998, he was named Chairman of the Department of Materials Science and Mechanics and he served in that position until June 2000. At that time, he retired from Michigan State as Professor Emeritus and joined the faculty at Tulane University as Dean of the School of Engineering, the ninth dean in the school's 112 year history. In 2006, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Tulane University was restructured and Altiero was named the inaugural Dean of the School of Science and Engineering.
Altiero has held visiting positions at the Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy, as a Fulbright Scholar, and at the Technical University of Aachen, Germany, as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow. He has published extensively in the areas of computational mechanics, fracture mechanics, geo-mechanics, and bio-mechanics and has received external funding for research, teaching and outreach projects from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ameritech, Consumer's Power, the Edward Lowe Foundation, Ford Motor, Garrett Turbine Engine, General Dynamics, General Electric Foundation, General Motors, the Industrial Technology Institute, and the Michigan Department of Commerce. He has taught a wide range of courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels and, in 1991, received the State of Michigan Teaching Excellence Award.
Altiero is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), a fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and a member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society and Tau Beta Pi Honorary Engineering Society. He currently serves on the Executive Board of the ASEE Engineering Deans Council, the Board of Trustees of the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), the Board of Directors of Wink Companies, LLC, the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Committee of the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Nominating Committee for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authorities, and the Board of Directors of the Greater New Orleans Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Initiative. He has served on the Board of Directors of ASEE, as Chairman of the ASEE Engineering Research Council, and as ASEE Vice President for Institutional Councils. He has also served as Chairman of the Council of Deans Subcommittee of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Aeronautics Research Advisory Committee, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Department of Energy's National Institute for Global Environmental Change, as a member of the ASME Task Force on Federal Engineering Research Funding, as a member of the Louisiana Governor’s Advisory Task Force on Funding and Efficiency of the Department of Environmental Quality, and as a member of the Louisiana Governor’s Emergency Preparedness Advisory Council.
Updated: July 1, 2009