James A. Smith, the Henry L. Kinnier Professor of Civil Engineering in theDepartment of Engineering Systems and Environment, has begun a three-year appointment as assistant dean for graduate education. Working with theOffice of Graduate Programsteam, Smith oversees strategic and operational aspects of graduate education, including postdoctoral researchers. He also assists UVA Engineering's associate dean for academic affairs, executive dean and dean in leadership and management of the school in matters associated with graduate education. Smith joined the faculty at UVA Engineering in 1992, after earning bachelor's and master's degrees in environmental engineering at Virginia Tech and master's and doctoral degrees in civil engineering at Princeton University, and following seven years as a research hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey's Water Resources Division.