Mau, who has more than 30 years experience in academia, will assume his new duties on July 1.

"Dr. Mau has extensive experience as a researcher, a teacher and an administrator," said Louanne Kennedy, provost and vice president for academic affairs. "We are fortunate to have someone with such accomplishments assume the role of dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science."

Mau succeeds Laurence Caretto, who stepped down as dean of the college last year to return to the classroom. Diane Schwartz, former chair of the Department of Computer Science, has filled in as dean during the interim.

CSUN's College of Engineering and Computer Science has more than 2,200 students and includes the departments of civil engineering and applied mechanics, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, manufacturing systems and engineering management and mechanical engineering.

Mau said he was very excited about coming to Northridge.

"There are so many opportunities and so much potential at the college," he said. "This is a good opportunity to serve the needs of the region, especially technology-related businesses. I really hope that we can work closely with the industry in the region and find out what we can do better to fulfill their needs and develop new career opportunities for our students."

Mau said that his first priority upon coming to CSUN will be to strengthen his college's ties with the business and technology industry.

"After all, we are serving their needs. We need their input and help in making sure that we do that. That's my external priority," he said. "Internally, I want to make sure we graduate more qualified students in a timely manner."

He said he was particularly looking forward to working with the faculty in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

"I really hope that we can work together as a team," he said. "As a dean, I'm just one person. I'm not going to make any difference if I don't have the faculty and staff working together with me as we move forward. I've always been lucky getting help from my colleagues, and I expect I'll have the same kind of luck at CSUN."

Mau has been dean of the Newark College of Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology since 1998. While there he introduced a faculty-based recruiting effort to raise the visibility of the college's programs. As a result, the college experienced a 20 percent increase in enrollment in its master's programs and a 15 percent increase in undergraduate applications. He also oversaw the creation of a new department in biomedical engineering.

Prior to working at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Mau taught at the University of Houston from 1984 to 1998. Before that, he was a professor at National Taiwan University and a visiting professor at the University of Illinois, Cornell University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mau earned his doctorate in structural engineering from Cornell University, his master's in structural engineering and bachelor's in civil engineering from National Taiwan University.

He has been a project director for an interdisciplinary research project on civil infrastructure systems funded by the National Science Foundation and an associate editor of the Journal of Engineering Mechanics.

Mau is married and has two grown sons.