ORONO — Giovanna Guidoboni, associate dean for research and professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Missouri, has been named dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Maine, effective Jan. 16, 2023.
She will fill the dean position left by Dana Humphrey, who is retiring Aug. 31 after a 36-year career at UMaine. Mohamad Musavi, UMaine College of Engineering associate dean and professor, will serve as interim dean, effective Sept. 1.
“We look forward to welcoming Dr. Guidoboni to the University of Maine community in the new year,” says John Volin, UMaine executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. “Her depth of experience includes internationally recognized research and innovation, undergraduate and graduate teaching and research, and stakeholder collaborations. With her leadership and vision, she will make important contributions that will help advance UMaine’s mission to benefit Maine and beyond.
“I also extend my deepest appreciation to Dr. Dana Humphrey for his tireless efforts that have put UMaine engineering on the map,” Volin says. “He has left a legacy in the college focused on student-centered, experiential learning, and nationally and internationally recognized research and outreach to industry leaders, many of whom are alumni.”
Guidoboni is a professor with joint appointments in electrical engineering, computer science, and mathematics. Her research focuses on mathematical modeling and data science applied to engineering and life sciences. She collaborates nationally and internationally in areas such as ocular blood flow and risk factors associated with ocular diseases; cardiovascular function and noninvasive health monitoring; and physiology of the lower urinary tract.
Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the European Commission.
Before joining the University of Missouri in 2017, Guidoboni served on the faculty of the University of Houston, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, and the Université de Strasbourg. Since January 2021, she has served as associate dean for research in the University of Missouri College of Engineering.
Guidoboni is the founder and manager of the consulting company Gspace LLC, which provides modeling and computational solutions for complex problems in engineering and life sciences. She also is co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of the journal Modeling and Artificial Intelligence in Ophthalmology.
Her international awards include a Fulbright Scholarship and a Chair Gutenberg. Guidoboni serves on the editorial boards of Scientific Reports (Nature), Frontiers in Neuroscience (Frontiers), and Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering (AIMS Press). In 2022, she was elected a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Guidoboni has a Ph.D. in mathematics, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in materials engineering from the University of Ferrara.
“Innovations stemming from academic research and education can truly change our world,” Guidoboni says. “I have personally experienced it many times while working at the crossroads of engineering, science, and medicine.
“An interdisciplinary, entrepreneurial, ambitious, inclusive, diverse, and passionate mindset is needed to make such innovations impactful and real for everyone, along with an engaged community and a supportive infrastructure such as that of UMaine,” she says. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to make the world a better place together with you.”
