Dr. William J. Wepfer

Chair of the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. William J. Wepfer joined the Georgia Tech faculty in 1980 after receiving his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1979. Beginning in 1989, he served as associate chair of Graduate Studies in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. In this role, Dr. Wepfer grew the graduate program from 244 to 687 students. In addition, during Dr. Wepfer's tenure as associate chair 106 students won prestigious NSF Fellowships.

In October 2002, Dr. Wepfer became Vice Provost of Distance Learning and Professional Education (DLPE). Dr. Wepfer worked with campus units to enable efficient delivery of their educational programs to students at Georgia Tech Lorraine, Georgia Tech Savannah, and other Georgia Tech partners. He worked to insure that the Global Learning Center enables the faculty to expand its international outreach. The Language Institute plays a critical supporting role in Georgia Tech's aspiration to become a global university.

Dr. Wepfer stresses the importance of distance learning and professional education as important compliments to our strong education and research programs.  His research interests are in thermal systems, heat transfer, and thermodynamics. He recently took on a new position as Chair of the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.