DUBOIS, Pa. -- Ping Werner, professor of engineering at Penn State DuBois, has been named interim chancellor and chief academic officer at the campus effective Jan. 1, 2013, following the retirement of current chancellor Anita McDonald. In this role, Werner will be responsible for the administrative oversight of the campus, as well as the direction of its academic functions. She will serve in her interim position until a permanent chancellor is identified, likely during the upcoming spring semester.
Werner began teaching at the campus as an instructor in 1990. She rose through the ranks of assistant professor and associate professor, and was promoted to professor in 2005.
"We are fortunate to have a strong leader in Dr. Werner, and I want to thank her for her willingness to help guide Penn State DuBois through this transition," said Madlyn Hanes, vice president for Commonwealth Campuses. "I also want to thank Dr. McDonald once again for a decade of distinguished service to the University."
Werner's concentration is in electrical engineering, and she has taught a variety of courses in that field at the campus. Her research interests include theoretical and computational electromagnetics with applications to antenna theory and design, electromagnetic metamaterials, wireless and personal communication systems, fractal electrodynamics and genetic algorithms. She has two U.S. patents, more than 100 publications and has written five book chapters.
Among her accomplishments and recognitions, Werner has been selected as a Leonhard Center Fellow and awarded funding for developing and improving undergraduate courses from The Leonhard Center, College of Engineering. She was a recipient of the College of Engineering PSES Outstanding Teaching Award. She is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), as well as a member of Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi.