Carney named college's senior associate dean for sciences

Dr. Bruce W. Carney, distinguished professor and chair of the department of physics and astronomy at UNC-Chapel Hill, has been named senior associate dean for the sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, effective July 1.

"Bruce Carney is an internationally recognized astronomy scholar and an outstanding teacher and administrator with extensive leadership experience in his field and in service to the college and the university," said Dr. Bernadette Gray-Little, dean of the college. "I am confident that he will be a superb dean for the sciences and I look forward to working with him as we continue to build our science programs in the college."

Carney, a UNC faculty member since 1980, has chaired the department of physics and astronomy since 1999. He has been involved in planning for the Carolina Physical Sciences Complex, the largest construction project in the university’s history. He also was instrumental in shaping the vision and raising private funds for the new Southern Astrophysical Research telescope in Chile. UNC is partner in the international project.

Carney, the Samuel Baron distinguished professor of physics and astronomy, is a scholar of optical and infrared photometry and spectroscopy, stellar populations, and globular cluster ages, with many publications to his credit, including the book, "Star Clusters" (2001). Among many other leadership positions, he has served as president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and as a member of the time allocation committee for the Hubble Space Telescope. He serves on the council of the American Astronomical Society, chairs the board of directors for the International Gemini Observatory, and is vice president of the SOAR Telescope board of directors.

Carney follows Senior Associate Dean Dr. Douglas Kelly, professor of statistics, who has returned to full-time teaching and research in the department of statistics and operations research.

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Contact: Dee Reid, (919) 843-6339