New associate deans appointed

Grant Norton was announced as Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Programs for the College of Engineering and Architecture.

A member of the Washington State University faculty since 1991, Dr. Norton is the Herman and Brita Lindholm Endowed Chair and professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.

Dr. Norton and his students are working on the synthesis and characterization of novel nanomaterial structures for alternative energy applications.

He has published more than 150 research articles, a book on X-ray diffraction, and an upcoming book on ceramics. He is editor of Journal of Materials Science and has served as guest editor of Journal of Materials Education.

From 2000-2005, Norton served as chair of Materials Science. He has most recently held the post of interim associate dean of research and graduate programs for the College of Engineering and Architecture. He has won several awards, including the American Society for Engineering Education Outstanding Teaching Award for the Pacific Northwest. Norton holds a doctorate from Imperial College, London.

“I believe that Dr. Norton will contribute significantly to the growth of the college’s research and graduate programs,’’ said Candis Claiborn, Dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture. “With his strong research background and attitude of innovation, he will serve the college well as we strive to solve grand challenges in areas such as energy, security, the environment, and biotechnology.’’   

Mary K. Bloodsworth-Lugo was announced as Associate Dean for Curriculum and Students.

Bloodsworth-Lugo received her B.A. in philosophy and psychology from Salisbury University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Memphis.

She joined the faculty of Washington State University in 1997. An associate professor of philosophy, she serves on the graduate faculty of the American Studies Program and is an associate of the University Honors College.

In 2003-2004, she served as acting chair of the Department of Women’s Studies. Her research interests include practical and theoretical matters involving identity and difference, such as how social identities are formed and regulated, and how individual differences contribute to categories of social identity.

She has published articles in philosophy and interdisciplinary journals and contributed to other interdisciplinary projects, and she currently has a book in press with SUNY Press titled In-Between Bodies: Sexual Difference, Race, and Sexuality, which focuses on embodiment and its relation to identity categories.

Dr.Bloodsworth-Lugo lives in Pullman with her partner, Carmen, and their four cats.