Ralph Aldredge Appointed New Executive Associate Dean, Associate Dean for Facilities and Capital Planning

Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies Ralph Aldredge has been appointed the next executive associate dean and associate dean for facilities and capital planning for the College of Engineering, Dean Richard Corsi announced Thursday.  

Aldredge succeeds Roland Faller, who departed after a 21-year career with the college to become the next dean of the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering at Texas Tech University. He will continue to serve in his role as associate dean for undergraduate studies.  

"I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve the college in these additional leadership roles and look forward to making meaningful contributions to the continued growth and success of the College of Engineering," Aldredge said.  

In his new positions, Aldredge will serve as the primary executive officer and representative of the college to UC Davis and the public when Dean Richard L. Corsi is absent and oversee the streamlining of renovations and new construction. He will also manage the budget of the Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center, or ESDC, and all training, compliance and professional development for ESDC staff.  

Aldredge will oversee numerous safety initiatives, including supervising the colleges Director of Safety and representing the college to the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, campus fire marshal and other campus units to implement proactive and corrective approaches to safety that ensure a safe working environment for faculty, staff and students.  

Aldredge joined the college in 1992 as an assistant professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering, serving in that role for six years before being promoted to associate professor in 1998. In 2005, Aldredge was promoted again to professor. He was named to his post as associate dean for undergraduate studies in 2019.  

His research is in the areas of combustion, fluid dynamics and bio-transport. He focuses on bio-fluid dynamics, front propagation both in biological tissue and in reacting gaseous mixtures. He has developed computational algorithms and software for simulation and analysis of flame propagation, including the Apple application Level-Set.  

Prior to UC Davis, Aldredge began his academic career first as a Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Energy and Combustion Research at the University of California, San Diego from 1990 to 1991 and then as the James Irvine Research Fellow in the Division of Mechanical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology from 1991 to 1992.  

Aldredge has held several administrative and leadership roles within the college since his arrival, including as chair of the systemwide University of California Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools, chair of the Academic Senate Committee on Admissions and Enrollment, and faculty assistant to the dean for undergraduate studies.