Harold G. Craighead, director of Cornell University's Nanobiotechnology Center (NBTC), the Charles W. Lake Jr. Professor of Engineering and professor of applied and engineering physics, has been named interim dean of the College of Engineering, according to Cornell Provost Biddy Martin.

Craighead, who will assume the interim deanship July 1, succeeds John Hopcroft.

"I am delighted that Harold has agreed to serve and appreciate the generosity and dedication he displays with this decision," Martin said. "I am confident that he will build on existing and newly emerging strengths in the College of Engineering during his term as interim dean."

Craighead said he would serve as interim dean until a new dean is found.

"Engineering and technology are playing an increasingly significant role in our economy and society," Craighead said. "The College of Engineering at Cornell has been the origin of significant innovations in research and the education of modern engineering students. With the breadth and strength of disciplines at Cornell, I feel we are particularly well positioned for continued innovation in emerging interdisciplinary activities. It will be my pleasure to work with the students, faculty and administration, now as interim dean, as we continue to foster the engineering activities at Cornell."

Craighead received his bachelor of science degree in physics, with high honors, from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1974. He received his Ph.D. in physics from Cornell in 1980. His thesis work involved an experimental study of metal nanoparticles.

He began his career at Bell Laboratories. Research there included studies of high-resolution semiconductor fabrication processes, including lithography with high energy finely focused electron beams. This work resulted, at the time, in the creation of the smallest wires and etched structures on gallium arsenide chips. At the breakup of AT&T, Craighead transferred to the newly created Bell Communications Research and became a research manager in the Solid State Science and Technology Laboratory. He formed and headed the Quantum Structures Research Group, responsible for advanced lithography, device fabrication and experimental quantum device studies. His personal research centered on advanced semiconductor processing and the properties of ultra-small structures. He explored ion etching processes in compound semiconductors, with, in several cases, the first published accounts of reactive ion etching processes in several material systems. He has worked extensively on optical materials, device and system studies.

Craighead joined the Cornell faculty as a professor in the School of Applied and Engineering Physics in 1989. He was director of the School of Applied and Engineering Physics from 1998 to 2000. From 1989 until 1995, he was director of the National Nanofabrication Facility at Cornell, now the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility.

In the last several years, Craighead's research has involved the use of nanofabrication for biological applications. He is leading research efforts in single biomolecule analysis and manipulation. His group also is exploring cell growth on chemically and topographically modified surfaces. Throughout his career, he has contributed to numerous scientific journals. He led the effort at Cornell that formed the Nanobiotechnology Center.

As interim dean, Craighead will oversee a College of Engineering that offers instruction in a full range of engineering disciplines at all levels. Some 2,800 undergraduates choose from 10 engineering fields, with the additional option of developing an individual interdisciplinary curriculum through the college program. In addition, about 1,300 students pursue graduate studies in applied science and engineering, offered in 13 fields in the one-year master of engineering program and in 15 fields in the M.S./Ph.D. degree program.