Dr. Steven J. Diner, chancellor of Rutgers University in Newark, has announced the appointment of Alexander Gates of Cranford, N.J., as vice chancellor for research, effective Jan. 2. In that capacity, Gates will work with Rutgers’ colleges and professional schools in Newark to advance funded research across all academic disciplines.  He also will be charged with strengthening educational research programs for undergraduate students, and will assist the Chancellor’s Office in faculty personnel matters, drawing upon years of experience as a professor and chair in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department. 

The Newark Research Office will report to Gates, and he will continue to administer the Garden State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (GS-LSAMP), a consortium working to double the numbers of underrepresented minority students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math at Rutgers-Newark and eight other New Jersey colleges. 

Gates also will explore additional Rutgers-Newark collaborations with The Newark Museum.  He already partners with the Museum on its annual ’s “Dinosaur Day” – one of its most popular and successful programs – and he helped to develop its  “Dynamic Earth” exhibition.

“A vital part of my mission as chancellor is to expand and strengthen the critical research that our faculty is engaged in, and to advance external funding support for this research,” notes Diner.  “I also want to provide extensive research opportunities to undergraduates under the guidance of our outstanding faculty.  Dr. Gates’ appointment is a vital step toward these important goals.”

Gates has been making significant contributions to Rutgers, its students, and the greater Newark community since 1987, when he joined the R-N faculty as an assistant professor.  His field research in New York’s Harriman Park led him to evidence of the formation of the supercontinent Rodinia, and he also has particular expertise in the geology of both New Jersey’s Highlands and New York City.  Gates has published extensively in scholarly journals, received several teaching awards, held offices within numerous scientific associations, and has brought in millions of dollars in research grants. Thanks to the  combination of Gates’ acknowledged expertise in his field and his knack for explaining complicated scientific information, he is often sought out by the mainstream media to discuss earthquakes, tsunamis and other phenomena.  In fact, the Discovery Channel has twice featured Gates in televised documentaries.

Before coming to Rutgers Gates was a visiting assistant professor at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, and before that, an exploration geologist for Chevron U.S.A.  He also has taught on the Rutgers -New Brunswick campus.  In 1990-1991, Gates was a senior scientist with the New York State Geological Survey, where he conducted research in Appalachian geology. 

Gates holds  a Ph.D. from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a B.S. from SUNY/Stony Brook. His special areas of interest are structural geology and tectonics — including fracture analysis and shear zones — as well as geologic mapping and radon analysis.

For more information, please contact Carla Capizzi, 973/353-5263, or Helen Paxton, 973/353-5262.

 

ABOUT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, NEWARK

Rutgers-Newark is home to the Newark College of Arts and Sciences, University College, the Graduate School-Newark, Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick, the School of Law-Newark, the College of Nursing, the School of Criminal Justice, the School of Public Affairs and Administration, and extensive research and outreach centers, including the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience. Nearly 13,000 students are currently enrolled in a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs offered at the 38-acre downtown Newark campus.