Dimitri Peroulis

Mung Chiang, the John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering, announced April 4 that the next Michael and Katherine Birck Head of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering will be Dimitrios (Dimitri) Peroulis. His selection came after a thorough international search with a large and strong applicant pool and input from many stakeholders.

Peroulis joined Purdue in 2003 as an assistant professor and served from 2014-2017 as the director of graduate admissions for ECE as well as the deputy director of the Birck Nanotechnology Center. He currently is the Reilly Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the associate dean for external affairs in the College.

In addition to the headship, Peroulis will serve as the special advisor to the dean on online learning, working with Gerry McCartney, executive vice president for Purdue Online, on behalf of the College.

“Dimitri has been an outstanding researcher, teacher, and innovator. He has also demonstrated leadership success in a variety of settings and a deep appreciation of the unique conditions of Purdue’s ECE,” Chiang said.

Peroulis came to Purdue directly after earning his PhD from the University of Michigan, where he also received his master’s degree. His bachelor’s degree is from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece.

Most recently, Peroulis became a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for contributions to MEMS-based tunable filters. He also is the recipient of the Outstanding Young Engineer Award of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, and in 2013, was inducted into the Book of Great Teachers at Purdue.

Peroulis will assume his duties on May 1.

“While I have been at Purdue for over 15 years, it is my earnest desire to start by listening to my colleagues, students, staff, alumni, and everyone inspired by our mission. I also look forward to discussing new ‘first, best, and only’ growth opportunities for ECE Boilermakers,” Peroulis said.

“Purdue ECE is one school with the pinnacle of excellence in both the physical and the virtual,” Chiang said.

As head of the largest school in the College and one of the largest in the nation, Peroulis will lead more than 100 faculty members and 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students.

“I believe this is a moment for all of us to think strategically of the opportunities lying ahead and re-affirm our commitment to empower everyone to move upward. I feel deeply honored to be part of such a moment, and I approach it with humility and genuine desire to help our students realize their dreams.”

Peroulis succeeds Venkataramanan “Ragu” Balakrishnan, who left in 2018 to become dean at Case School of Engineering at Case Western Reserve University.