VP research and international affairs reappointed to second term

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Elbestawi-07.jpg” caption=”Mo Elbestawi has been reappointed to a second term as McMaster’s vice-president of research and international affairs. File photo.”]Mo Elbestawi has been reappointed to a second term as McMaster's vice-president of
research and international affairs.

The Board of Governors approved his reappointment this week, ratifying a unanimous
recommendation from the selection committee.

“With his strong record of achievement, passion and enthusiasm for McMaster and a
solid plan for the future, I look forward to working with Mo for another five years,” says
President Patrick Deane who also chaired the selection committee.

“It is a distinct honour and privilege to be able to continue working alongside the
world's best researchers, teachers and students at one of the country's leading research
institutions,” says Elbestawi. “I look forward to building on the impressive
accomplishments of our faculty and staff and joining with our senior leadership to
continue to achieve McMaster's goals and priorities.”

Under Elbestawi's leadership, McMaster continues to be a research powerhouse. It has
maintained its spot in the annual “Top 50 Research Universities”, holding a rank of sixth
overall in Canada and second overall in research intensity in the most recent rankings.

During the selection process, Elbestawi had an opportunity to present an overview of
the accomplishments of his first term, which included securing government investments
of $11.5-million for MARC – the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre – which allows
the University to accelerate automotive research.

He also highlighted the significant expansion of the Canada Research Chair program at
McMaster. The University is now home to 62 Chairs from an allocation of 69 CRCs – the
third highest allocation in Ontario and ninth in Canada.

During his first term, the McMaster Innovation Park continued to flourish and the federal
government opened its CANMET materials technology lab on Longwood Road.

Prior to being named vice-president, Elbestawi was dean of McMaster's Faculty of
Engineering. He was the driving force behind the establishment of the McMaster
Manufacturing Research Institute and was appointed its first director. He is known
world-wide for his research in the area of manufacturing engineering, specifically
machine tools, metal cutting and computer-aided manufacturing.

After completing his BSc at Alexandria University and his M.Eng. and PhD degrees in
mechanical engineering at McMaster, he worked for several years in industrial research
and development. He joined McMaster in 1986 as an associate professor.

In addition, Elbestawi is a fellow of many prestigious organizations including the
Canadian Academy of Engineering, International Academy for Production Engineering,
American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Canadian Society for Mechanical
Engineering. He is a two-time recipient of the McMaster Students Union award for
Teaching Excellence.