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VIDEO: Meet Dean Rudolph G. Buchheit

August 09, 2018

The college has kicked off a new academic year, and Dean Rudy Buchheit wants to spread the word: “More than ever, now is the time to be an engineer.” 

On July 1st, 2018, Rudolph G. Buchheit became the 11th dean of the UK College of Engineering. Dean Buchheit was associate dean for academic affairs and administration of the College of Engineering at The Ohio State University, an academic unit comprising more than 350 faculty members, 400 staff members, 8,500 undergraduate students and 2,200 graduate students.

During his time at Ohio State, Buchheit supervised the recruitment of a three-year faculty cohort that was 45 percent women and diverse men, and he oversaw an operating budget of $240 million including $130 million in research expenditures. Buchheit is passionate about student and faculty success and the prospect of building upon the College of Engineering’s considerable momentum.

Buchheit earned his bachelor's degree in engineering science at Loyola University Maryland. He also has a master's degree and doctoral degree in materials science from the University of Virginia. Buchheit served as department chair of Materials Science and Engineering at Ohio State from October 2006-August 2014.

Before joining Ohio State, Buchheit was a senior member of the technical staff in the Materials and Process Sciences Directorate at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico.

Buchheit's research is in the area of corrosion science and engineering with emphasis on the chemistry and electrochemistry of corrosion, corrosion modeling and corrosion prediction; mostly related to aluminum alloys and products. He has also worked in the area of surface engineering, including surface modification and corrosion resistant coatings.

Buchheit is a fellow of NACE International. He is also a fellow of the Electrochemical Society. He has served on the editorial board for Corrosion Engineering, Science and Technology. He has served as an ABET program evaluator for materials-oriented programs and is a past chair of the University Materials Council.

Buchheit is the recipient of the H.H. Uhlig Educator’s Award from NACE and the Morris Cohen Award from the Corrosion Division of the Electrochemical Society. He is also the recipient of the Stanley E. Harrison Faculty Award from the College of Engineering at Ohio State and is a two-time recipient of the Charles Ellison MacQuigg Award for outstanding teaching.

Buchheit succeeded Larry Holloway, who served as interim dean since July 2016 and is now Vice Provost at UK.