Madison Reporter

Devesh Ranjan, a mechanical engineer and University of Wisconsin–Madison alumnus, has been appointed as the tenth dean of the College of Engineering at UW–Madison. He will begin his role in June, returning to Wisconsin after leading Georgia Tech’s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.

Provost Charles Isbell Jr. expressed enthusiasm about Ranjan's return: “We are very fortunate to bring an engineer with Prof. Ranjan’s energy and vision back to Madison.” Ranjan himself reflected on his journey since arriving at UW–Madison in 2003 for graduate school, stating, “I’ve been blessed from that day onward.”

Ranjan completed his doctorate at UW–Madison in 2007 under Prof. Riccardo Bonazza and later worked as a director’s postdoctoral fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He joined Texas A&M University in 2009 before moving to Georgia Tech in 2014. His research has focused on fluid dynamics and designing next-generation power cycles.

In 2021, he was recognized as a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and received several awards throughout his career, including the Gustus L. Larson Memorial Award in 2023.

At Georgia Tech, Ranjan led initiatives to bridge gaps within the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. He emphasized the importance of investing in people: “People, first and foremost, are the strength of an institution like UW–Madison’s College of Engineering.”

Ranjan will succeed Ian Robertson as dean and aims to enhance the college's impact with input from students, staff, faculty, and stakeholders across Wisconsin. He plans to leverage his fundraising experience from Georgia Tech to support this vision.

The new Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center is currently being planned as part of UW–Madison’s engineering campus expansion.

Ranjan looks forward to contributing strategically over the next five or ten years while supporting entrepreneurial growth within the college. He also hopes to connect with alumni who have become leaders in Wisconsin industries.

With his family joining him in Madison, Ranjan is eager for both professional and personal experiences: “My first winter there was...adaptation to a different life,” he recalls about his time as a student.

The UW–Madison College of Engineering ranks among the top engineering colleges nationally, enrolling around 6,500 students across eight departments.