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Paul Goldbart Selected as Dean at University of Texas, Austin

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College of Sciences Dean and Sutherland Chair Paul Goldbarthas been named dean of the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. He will begin at UT Austin on August 1.

“Georgia Tech’s reputation as a global leader in the sciences has been fostered and enhanced by the leadership of Paul Goldbart,” said Rafael L. Bras, Georgia Tech provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs and K. Harrison Brown Family Chair. “He is the rare blend of gifted administrator and skilled academic that will no doubt make an impact at The University of Texas at Austin. He will be greatly missed by his colleagues and students alike at Georgia Tech.”

Goldbart joined the Georgia Tech faculty in 2011. He has served as the dean since 2013 and as the inaugural Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Chair since 2016. As dean, he oversaw the launch of doctoral programs in Quantitative Biosciences and in Ocean Science and Engineering and a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience, as well as the growth of living-learning communities devoted to science and mathematics. He also served in critical leadership roles including co-chairing the Taskforce on the Learning Environment, a group charged to assess Georgia Tech’s academic culture.

As a faculty member in the School of Physics, Goldbart’s research interests include statistical and soft matter physics, nanoscience, quantum fluids and solids, quantum information, and law and economics. He has authored more than 150 publications and co-authored a textbook, “Mathematics for Physics – A Guided Tour for Graduate Students.”

Before joining Georgia Tech, Goldbart spent 25 years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A fellow of the American Physical Society and the Institute of Physics, Goldbart earned a B.A. in Physics and Theoretical Physics from Cambridge University in 1981. He received an M.S. in Physics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1982, and a Diploma in Mathematical Physics and Ph.D. from Imperial College, University of London in 1985.

Goldbart’s selection as dean also means the departure of his wife, Jenny Singleton, professor and associate chair in the School of Psychology. During her tenure at Georgia Tech, Singleton has also served as a co-chair of the Student Mental Health Action Team and as the assistant provost for Advocacy and Conflict Resolution since January. Singleton will become a member of the UT Austin faculty. Goldbart and Singleton have been married since 1988 and have two children, Oliver (B.S. Computer Science, 2015) and Greta.

“To say I have mixed emotions would be an understatement,” Goldbart said. “My time at Georgia Tech has been immensely rewarding, and I will miss this close-knit family. I am grateful for the opportunity presented to me by UT Austin and look forward to tackling this new challenge.”

Details on an interim dean appointment as well as the national search for a new leader for the College of Sciences will be made available in the coming weeks.

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  • Workflow Status:Published
  • Created By:A. Maureen Rouhi
  • Created:04/12/2018
  • Modified By:Kristen Bailey
  • Modified:04/12/2018