Elise Morgan, Maysarah K. Sukkar professor of engineering design and innovation and former dean ad interim of the College of Engineering, has a vision — to blend engineers’ technical expertise and sense of social responsibility to shape a sustainable future where human progress has no bounds.
After 22 years as a BU faculty member, she can now make this a reality.
Morgan was appointed the permanent dean of ENG starting Aug. 1, following a “national search process that considered several strong candidates for the role,” University Provost Gloria Waters wrote in a July 17 announcement.
Morgan joined BU in 2003 as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, initially teaching classes in mechanical engineering, biomechanics and mechanobiology.
After being promoted to full professor in 2015, she held a number of administrative positions, often overseeing research programs.
In 2023, she was named interim dean of ENG following the appointment of the previous dean, Kenneth Lutchen, to interim University provost.
Morgan also launched her own research lab, which studies the causes of bone fractures in the spine — a condition Morgan said affects about a fifth of the U.S. population. However, its risk factors are still poorly understood, she said.
“Right now, the technologies available for determining who is at highest risk for fracture and who isn’t are insufficient,” she said. “As a result, we as a community are not able to be very targeted in who needs the treatments.”
Vivian Shi, a fourth-year doctoral student in ENG, said throughout her time working in the lab, Morgan was a consistently clear and enthusiastic director.
“She never makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong or [like] I’m a bad scientist,” Shi said. “She’s very understanding.”
Shi added that Morgan always fosters a sense of community by encouraging the students in her lab to socialize and bond outside the workspace.
Pamela Audeh, ENG’s assistant dean of outreach and diversity, said Morgan cares a lot about her students “not just as students, not just as engineers, but as people.”
Morgan said engineering has a “tremendous” impact on the quality of people’s lives. However, she noted that such efforts require a strong community.
“To maximize our impact in having engineering be so transformative on the world around us, that’s a very strong community focus. That’s a very strong societal focus,” she said. “In order to do that to the best of our ability, we also need to have a strong community within.”
Audeh said Morgan has helped foster a sense of community through the Engineering Commons, a new space where students can receive support in academics, professional development or health and wellness.
“[This space has] never existed within [the College of] Engineering before, and because she sees community building and belonging as so important, she has heavily supported it,” Audeh said. “That is a great example of her caring so much about the student experience and making sure they feel like they belong and have the support they need.”
Morgan emphasized that engineering should help people and the environment — but only if the engineers understand the human and environmental needs they are solving.
“I see a lot of potential of having us work on problems that are directly relevant to just the city of Boston, and that will be [the] model to me of how engineering can be transformative for any city or community of people,” she said.
As dean, Morgan said she wants to advance leadership in engineering scholarship, conduct interdisciplinary research, invest further in the undergraduate curriculum and strengthen community inclusion within the college.
“I want to get to a place where our marker of success is not just students making it through but students really thriving while they’re here,” Morgan said.
