Clemson names College of Science interim dean
December 2, 2015
CLEMSON, SC — Mark D. Leising, who chairs Clemson University’s physics and astronomy department, has been appointed interim dean of the new College of Science.
“Mark is a distinguished scholar and an experienced department head who is respected by his colleagues,” said Robert H. Jones, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. “He will bring to the table experience, maturity, and passion for the sciences and the contributions that a new college of science can give to Clemson.”
In his new role, Leising will begin building the College of Science and will play a significant role in leading the departments and divisions as they transition from their previous college into the newly formed unit. The College of Science is being formed as part of the overall college reorganization that Clemson is currently undertaking. The ultimate goal of college reorganization is to ensure each department has an optimal path to national prominence.
Leising joined Clemson in 1991 as an assistant professor. He held a Humboldt Fellowship in 1997-98 in Garching, Germany. In 2011, he became interim chair of the university’s physics and astronomy department and was named chair in 2013. He has directed Clemson’s astronomy labs and the Clemson Planetarium since 1994. He was inducted into the Thomas Green Clemson Academy of Scientists and Engineers in 2014.
Some of Leising’s astrophysics research highlights include the first detections of radioactive debris in a supernova explosion, a first-of-its-kind map of electron-positron annihilation radiation from the Milky Way and predictions of supernova radioactivity detectable in X-rays.
Leising has published more than 100 articles and has delivered more than 50 conference presentations.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree and doctorate in space physics and astronomy from Rice University.
His appointment will begin immediately.
