Governor names Dean Anthony Vizzini to state professional board

Contact: Cheryl Roland
Photo of Anthony .

Vizzini

KALAMAZOO--Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced April 16 that he has named Dr. Anthony Vizzini, dean of Western Michigan University's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, to the State Board of Professional Engineers.

Created in 1980, the board regulated the practice of Michigan's more than 20,000 professional engineers. The Michigan board is comprised of nine voting members--five professional engineers, one architect, one surveyor and two public members. Vizzini will serve a four-year term as one of the five professional engineers on the board, and his appointment is subject to approval by the Michigan Senate.

Anthony Vizzini

WMU's engineering dean since 2009, Vizzini previously led the aerospace engineering department at Mississippi State University for six years and taught for 17 years at the University of Maryland, where he founded the Composites Research Laboratory.

He earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT in 1981, 1983 and 1986, respectively. He also earned a second bachelor's degree in mathematics from MIT in 1982. Vizzini is a fellow of the American Society for Composites, and he is serving this year as president of the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering. He has been repeatedly honored for his work by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, earning Goddard Space Flight Center's Exceptional Achievement and Outstanding Teamwork awards.

Michigan's Professional Board of Engineers is housed in the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, which is charged with promoting business growth and job creation in Michigan by streamlining and eliminating unnecessary or burdensome regulations.