Harold J. Raveche
Harold J. Raveche Harold J. Raveche is the 6th President of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. He is recognized internationally as an expert on technological innovation for business growth and economic development.

Term: 1988 - Present

Born: Brooklyn, NY

Alma mater: University of California at San Diego

Education and Early Career

Raveche was born in Brooklyn, New York. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry at Hofstra University in Uniondale, Long Island, in 1963. He then earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry and statistical mechanics from the University of California at San Diego, where his research in statistical mechanics was mentored by the late Joseph E. Mayer, recognized to be one of the founders of the field. At UCSD, Raveche’s approach using models and mathematical analysis in research was strongly influenced by the late Maria Goeppert Mayer, who was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in physics in 1963.

National Institute of Standards and Technology

After completing his Ph.D., Raveche was awarded a post doctoral research fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) where he conducted research with the late Dr. Melville S. Green, a pioneer in the statistical physics of time dependent processes, who had studied with Nobel Laureate, the late Eugene P. Wigner, who shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1963. Upon completion of his fellowship, Raveche accepted the position of research chemist. At NIST, he continued his theoretical research in statistical mechanics, which won awards by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Maryland Academy of Sciences. In addition, he worked with colleagues to develop technologies for air pollution monitoring of particulate matter. NIST named him founding Chief of the Thermophysics Division, which grew to become a multi-million dollar research organization serving the needs of the Departments of Commerce, Defense, and Energy, as well as industry, and Raveche became a member of the U.S. Senior Executive Service. At NIST, he had a leadership role, with other scientists, to conduct the studies leading to the acquisition of the national laboratory’s first super-computer.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Following a national search, in 1985 Raveche was named Dean of Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where he was responsible for their multi-million dollar Science Initiatives Program to advance education and research in all fields of science. At RPI, he promoted interdisciplinary research with the School of Engineering and externally with business and industry. While Dean, Raveche co-chaired the seminal inter federal agency report on large-scale computing, “A National Computing Initiative: The Agenda for Leadership,” which outlined grand challenges in research and shaped federal R&D policy on supercomputing.

Stevens Institute of Technology

In 1988, Raveche was named President of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ following a national search conducted by the university. At Stevens, he has worked with academic and administrative leadership to advance the Institute’s pioneering broadbased education, develop and promote new graduate programs in engineering, science, and technology management, and advance sponsored research at the individual faculty level, as well as through centers of research in thrust areas. Steeples of faculty excellence resulted in the formation of the Design and Manufacturing Institute, the Center for Environmental Systems, the Maritime Systems Laboratory, the Highly Filled Materials Institute, the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education, and the New Jersey Center for MicroChemical Systems. Additional accomplishments at Stevens:

  • Under Raveche’s leadership, Stevens Institute of Technology has become one of the world’s leading technological universities and serves as a model for faculty and student innovation and enterprise.
  • University enrollment has flourished during Raveche’s tenure. The Institute has the largest undergraduate student population in its 140 year history. Since 1988, Stevens has more than doubled both its undergraduate and graduate enrollment. The American Association of Engineering Education (ASEE) has recognized Stevens as having the 20th largest engineering graduate program and the second largest online graduate education program in the nation. Stevens today offers 30 undergraduate majors and 43 graduate programs; prior to Raveche’s appointment, the university offered 13 undergraduate majors and 14 graduate programs.
  • Raveche’s commitment to academic leadership and faculty excellence has helped propel Stevens to win designation for two national research centers of excellence:
    • In national competition in 2008, Stevens was named the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Center of Excellence in Secure and Resilient Maritime Commerce due to the Institute’s outstanding programs in maritime systems and the development and application of computer modeling of marine environments.
    • Also in national competition, in 2008 Stevens was named by the U.S. Department of Defense as the University Affiliated Research Center in systems engineering resulting in the formation of the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), which is the largest and most comprehensive in the nation.
  • Raveche has expanded the footprint of Stevens Institute of Technology’s graduate programs beyond the region to other parts of the United States, as well as to Europe, Asia, and Latin America, working to advance educational and research programs abroad. Examples include Stevens’ dual degree graduate program with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore in systems engineering; the Institute’s position as the first university to be licensed to conduct graduate programs in the Dominican Republic, where the master’s degree students are sponsored by government scholarships; as well as extensive graduate programs in China. In addition, he has promoted academic programs and championed technology commercialization in Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, and India.
  • Since 1988, externally sponsored research has more than tripled.
  • Raveche has placed an emphasis on partnerships to connect the Institute’s educational and research programs in engineering, science, and technology management with business, industry and government for the greater good of society. As was noted in Forbes, “Stanford University’s fertile breeding ground for breakthrough technology may have spawned the likes of Hewlett-Packard and Google, but little Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, really knows how to get serious returns on its research and development.”
  • Raveche drove two capital campaigns to increase scholarship support, advance academics, and construct and renovate campus-wide facilities to enhance academics and student life. The award-winning Lawrence T. Babbio, Jr. Center for Technology Management, the Schaefer Athletic Center, DeBaun Athletic Field, Nichols Environmental Engineering Laboratory, and the Rocco Technology Center were constructed. Extensive renovations were completed in student residential facilities as well faculty laboratories and other academic areas.
  • Raveche championed WebCampus, Stevens Institute of Technology’s online learning program. In 2003, WebCampus was named the best Graduate Online program by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; in 2005 it received the same designation by the U.S. Distance Learning Association, and in 2007 it was designated the Best Online program in China by the Sloan Foundation. WebCampus.Stevens pioneered partnerships with professional associations such as the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers, and the National Society of Professional Engineers.
  • Raveche has also made a priority of providing a world class and well-rounded education for students at Stevens. Under his program to expand the presence of the Scholar-Athlete on the Stevens campus, in 2008, Stevens was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and Jostens’ Institution of the Year for combined academic and athletic excellence, having been selected from the more than 300 colleges and universities in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Association with Division I, II, and III programs. Stevens was the first technological university to win the award and it shares the distinction with Georgetown University for the institutional and student athlete awards in the same year.
  • With academic and faculty leadership, Raveche promoted the distinctive Technogenesis® learning environment where faculty, students and external partners collaborate for the marketplace realization of the Institute’s research.
  • Raveche hosted the Comcast Cable Television show, Technogenesis, which won five Telly Awards.
  • In 2008, Forbes.Com ranked Stevens third in the U.S. on return on investment in R&D.

Other

In New Jersey, Raveche was a Commissioner on the Commission of Science and Technology and worked with others to establish the NJ Corporation for Advanced Technology to promote the development and utilization of new environmental and energy technologies.

Raveche serves on corporate boards. He is a frequent a guest on national and international television programs on technological innovation for business growth and economic development. Raveche served on the National Science Foundation’s Visiting Committee on Scientific Computing. He also co-chaired the U.S. Council on Competitiveness report, “Winning the Skills Race,” which helped shape federal workforce training policy.



 
Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken NJ 07030-5991 USA +1.201.216.5000
©2009 Stevens Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.