Instructor earns job in China

By Heather Poston
Staff Writer

A Purdue University professor has become the first foreign department head of Tsinghua University since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Gavriel Salvendy, a professor of industrial engineering, was hired to head the department of industrial engineering at Tsinghua University in Peking, one of China's most prestigious engineering schools. He is being paid a $100,000 salary to help reshape and rebuild the school's program.

"The money focused by the media is not the factor attracting me to Tsinghua. I am excited for the top-quality students of the university," said Salvendy. "Among my Ph.D. students, most of them are from Tsinghua University and they are very excellent students."

Students of Salvendy think highly of his recent accomplishments.

"He is the right person for the job. He will contribute tremendously to the development of the department," said Diana Horn, graduate student in the Schools of Engineering. "Because of his remarkable background and experience, he will help build a solid foundation and create valuable programs and projects."

Salvendy has earned many prestigious awards and received much recognition for his work in the industrial engineering field. He is the author or co-author of more than 350 research publications including 180 journal papers and 20 books. His publications have appeared in six languages.

He is the founding editor of the International Journal on Human-Computer Interaction, the International Journal of Cognitive Ergonomics and Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing. He was also the founding chair of the International Commission on Human Aspects in Computing, which is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

In 1990, Salvendy was the first member of both the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and the International Ergonomics Society to be elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

In 1991, Salvendy was the first scientist outside of the USSR to receive the Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov Medal from the Russian Academy of Science.

"Dr. Salvendy is a very nice person with a great personality," said Yunlong Xie, a graduate student in the Schools of Engineering. "He is humorous and caring. He not only helps students in their research, but he also helps students a lot in their daily lives. He treats students as colleagues, so students respect him very much."

Salvendy will fill both his positions in the United States and China concurrently, working full time at Purdue as well as visiting China again in March.

"Within five years I hope to make the industrial engineering department the best in China as well internationally," said Salvendy.

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