G. P. Peterson | |
---|---|
11th President of the Georgia Institute of Technology | |
In office April 1, 2009 – September 1, 2019 | |
Preceded by | G. Wayne Clough |
Succeeded by | Ángel Cabrera |
10th Chancellor of the University of Colorado Boulder | |
In office July 15, 2006 – March 31, 2009 | |
Preceded by | Phil DiStefano (interim) Richard L. Byyny |
Succeeded by | Phil DiStefano |
Personal details | |
Born | George Paul Peterson September 1, 1952 Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
Other names | Bud Peterson |
Alma mater | Texas A&M University Kansas State University |
Known for | Contributions to phase change heat transfer |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Mechanical engineering |
Institutions | Georgia Institute of Technology University of Colorado at Boulder Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Texas A&M University |
Thesis | Analytical and experimental investigation of a dual passage, monogroove heat pipe (zero-g devices, two-phase flow mathematical models) (1985) |
Doctoral advisor | Mario Colaluca |
George Paul "Bud" Peterson (born September 1, 1952) is the former president of the Georgia Institute of Technology.[1][2][3][4] Peterson is a graduate of Kansas State University, where he earned B.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics and an M.S. in Engineering, and Texas A&M University, where he earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. On January 7, 2019, Peterson announced his upcoming retirement from Georgia Tech, effective summer of 2019.[5][6] His successor, Ángel Cabrera, assumed the office September 1, 2019, after serving for seven years as president of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. In September 2019, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted to name Peterson President Emeritus and Regents Professor of Mechanical Engineering for the standard three-year term. The Board of Regents also awarded him tenure.[7]
Prior to his position as Georgia Tech's 11th president, Peterson served as the chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder,[8] the provost of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and associate vice-chancellor and executive associate dean of Engineering of Texas A&M University.[9]
Peterson was named as the sole finalist for the position of president of Georgia Tech on February 2, 2009,[10][11] and was accepted Feb. 25, 2009. He succeeded G. Wayne Clough and Gary Schuster (interim) when he took the position April 1, 2009.[12] He was officially installed as president at a September 3, 2009, investiture ceremony.[13] Peterson shares his first name and middle initial with Georgia Tech's famous fictional student, George P. Burdell.