UNSW appoints new Dean of Engineering
Professor Julien Epps has been appointed Dean of Engineering and will lead the largest engineering faculty in Australia.
Published on the 16 Oct 2023 by Cecilia Duong
Professor Julien Epps is the new Dean of UNSW Engineering. Photo: UNSW
UNSW Sydney Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Atilla Brungs and Provost, Professor Vlado Perkovic, have announced Professor Julien Epps as the new incoming Dean of UNSW Engineering following a global search.
Since 2019, Professor Epps has been Head of UNSW’s School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, which is the largest and highest ranked school of its kind in Australia.
Prof. Brungs congratulated Prof. Epps on his appointment and highlighted his strong track record as a leader in research translation.
“Since his appointment as Head of School in 2019 and drawing upon his industry learnings and passion for research translation, Julien has led the school’s outstanding track record of high-quality research, industry engagement, spinout companies and educational excellence,” Prof. Brungs said.
“In this role he drove the introduction of the world’s first Bachelor of Quantum Engineering program, which has grown strongly and is being followed by other universities internationally.
“During COVID, Julien’s team responded to the challenges of engineering education by pioneering an innovative remote laboratory paradigm that attracted significant attention and acclaim.
“Julien is Co-Director of the NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN), where he has set the strategy for the Network, co-led a large team of Theme Leaders and Business Development Managers and overseen an $80 million pipeline of prospective and funded projects.
“Under his leadership, he has brought together industry, government and nine universities to co-create multi-university, multi-disciplinary smart sensing solutions to address pressing societal challenges.”
Prof. Epps is a proud UNSW alumnus, boasting both a Bachelor's and PhD in Electrical Engineering from the university. Securing his doctorate in 2001, he quickly rose to prominence, taking on significant roles including Senior Research Engineer at Motorola Labs and Senior Researcher and Project Leader at National ICT Australia. By 2007, his expertise led him back to UNSW, where he took up a position as a Senior Lecturer.
Internationally, Julien is a recognised expert in speech signal processing. He has authored more than 270 publications and five patents, which have been collectively cited more than 13,500 times, and has supervised 23 PhD students to completion as primary or joint supervisor. He has attracted a career total of around $20 million of research funding from a variety of programs and has delivered keynotes and invited tutorials to major international conferences. For his contributions to learning and teaching, he was recognised as a Fellow of the UNSW Scientia Education Academy.
Prof. Epps said he was honoured to be leading Australia’s largest engineering faculty.
“It is a tremendous privilege to lead such an outstanding team of researchers, educators and professionals working at the very frontier of engineering,” Prof. Epps said.
“Given that many of the world’s current challenges are highly complex and require breakthrough solutions and deep technical skills, engineering is positioned to make enormous contributions in the coming years. I am looking forward to growing the faculty’s impact even further – in research, education, entrepreneurship and society.”
Prof. Epps will start in his new role on 1 December 2023.
Prof. Brungs and Prof. Perkovic also thanked outgoing Dean Prof. Stephen Foster, who has led the faculty since January 2020.