Dr. Donald Leo became the first permanent Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia on July 1, 2013 and currently holds the UGA Foundation Professorship in Engineering.  He received his BS in Aeornautics and Astronautics Engineering at the University of Illinois – Urbana, Champaign in 1990 and received his MS and PhD degrees in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Buffalo in 1992 and 1995.  Dean Leo was a member of the faculty at Virginia Tech during 1998 – 2013.  He held several leadership positions at Virginia Tech as the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Engineering; Associate Vice President of the National Capital Region Operations; and Vice President and Executive Director of the National Capital Region Operations.

Dr. Leo has been an active researcher and scholar throughout his career having authored or co-authored over 200 papers and published a textbook in 2007.  His awards include the Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship (1997-1998), National Science Foundation Career Award (2001), Outstanding Recent Alumnus – UIUC Aerospace Engineering Department (2004), and the Dean’s Award for Research at Virginia Tech (2008).  He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a Member of the American Society for Engineering Education.