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Although Syracuse University Interim Dean Jennifer Ross is leading a college that teaches mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering and computer science, she sees her background as an award-winning biophysicist as an advantage.

“Biophysics is very interdisciplinary. I’ve always worked with bio engineers. I’ve always worked with physicists, chemists, biologists, biochemists,” Ross said. “It’s just an incredibly interdisciplinary field, which kind of helps me to adapt, to learn about [engineering].”

Ross, the newly appointed interim dean of SU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, took the position after serving as the College of Art and Sciences’ associate dean for creativity, scholarship and research. Now, she’s helping students build robots and simulate flying airplanes.

Announced in October 2025, Ross officially stepped into the interim dean role for ECS in November. Her appointment comes after former ECS Dean J. Cole Smith left SU to become Clemson University’s vice president for academic affairs and provost.

Previous to her role as interim and associate dean, Ross served as the chair of SU’s physics department, overseeing the addition of an astronomy major. In her role as associate dean, Ross oversaw applications for funding, prize and award nominations and research expenditures.

Ross earned her undergraduate degree at Wellesley College in 2000 before completing her Ph.D. in physics at the University of California four years later. Afterward, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine studying molecular biology.

When SU hired Ross at the BioInspired Institute, she arrived with something that she said would define her time at SU: a strive for leadership and helping others.

Ross’s progression at SU felt natural to Duncan Brown, Syracuse’s vice president for research, who has known Ross since before she arrived on campus.

Brown and Ross were both inducted into the Cottrell Scholar program in the same year. Brown said the competitive national fellowship recognizes faculty who excel in research and undergraduate teaching.

“You have to show impact on undergraduate education and cutting-edge research,” Brown said. “That’s exactly the type of faculty we want at Syracuse University.”

Alison Patteson, an associate professor of biophysics and a fellow Cottrell Scholar, described Ross as energetic and committed to students.

“She cares a lot about teaching and uses active learning strategies in her classroom,” Patteson said. “She has one of the strongest work ethics I’ve ever seen.”

Ross regularly brings undergraduates, graduates and even high school students into her research lab. She said she encourages collaboration and communication by pairing younger students with graduate students and running weekly meetings.

It’s a model she said is necessary for good teaching.

Zobayer Joti | Contributing Photographer

Ross sitting in front of her dean to-do list. Ross officially stepped into the interim dean role for ECS in November.

The interim dean has also developed innovative teaching methods, including her “Experiencing Physics” lab, an undergraduate research experience targeted at improving learning and student retention in the physics major.

Both Brown and Patteson emphasized Ross’ leadership skills, pointing out her ability to listen and understand perspectives. Patteson said the new dean is very “solution-orientated” and takes time to respond to student and faculty concerns.

“Engineering and physics aren’t a million miles apart,” Brown said. “A biomedical engineer might have more in common with a biophysicist than with a civil engineer.”

Ross said her leadership extends the same curiosity that drives her science. She holds open office hours twice a week, where students regularly visit with questions or issues.

Now, she believes the new interim dean title will allow her to help even more students.

As chair of SU’s physics department, Ross supported dozens of faculty and mentored over a hundred students in her lab. Now, at ECS, her reach is even broader than ever before.

“Even though there’s more people involved, I just see it as the same thing,” Ross said. “Helping people move things forward.”

Ross said she sees herself as a “bridge” — someone tasked with getting the college “into really tight shape” before the new dean is selected.

That includes navigating rapid changes in technology, particularly with artificial intelligence. As a researcher, Ross said she’s always worked with AI, and sees it as a tool that can save time in the future.

ECS has launched new AI-focused degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, with tracks studying both hardware and software. Rather than avoiding AI, Ross wants the college to understand how it works, including learning about microchips and neural networks.

“We’re grabbing the bull by the horns, and we’re going to ride this bull out to see where it takes us,” Ross said.

Despite her new role, Ross always remembers what makes SU unique: its people. She said she’s struck by how driven students are — recounting about times where she’s found undergraduates working late Friday nights at the Allen Innovation Hub.

“They were like, ‘Don’t worry, parties start at nine,’” Ross said. “And I was like, ‘Oh no, I’m old, I should be going to bed.’”

What makes ECS special to Ross is the unique “personality” of the school.

Whether it be engineers studying abroad or students racing their hand-built cars, those unexpected details aren’t distractions from engineering and computer science for Ross — it’s the point.

“People here do different things that you’d never expect, and that’s what makes it so great.” Ross said.

Published on February 5, 2026 at 1:29 am