Richard K. Miller, Ph.D.
President

781-292-2301
richard.miller@olin.edu

Richard K. Miller became founding President and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in 1999. Dr. Miller served as Dean of the College of Engineering and Professor at the University of Iowa from 1992-1999, where he initiated a comprehensive curriculum revision, a major facilities modernization project, a major private capital campaign, a fifty percent increase in research expenditures, and the first Technological Entrepreneurship Certificate Program for engineers in the nation. He served on the faculty of the School of Engineering at the University of Southern California from 1979-92, where he held the position of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (1989-92). From 1975-79 he served on the faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Dr. Miller's research interests are in structural dynamics and nonlinear mechanics with application to earthquake engineering and spacecraft structural design. He is the author or co-author of about 100 reviewed journal articles and other technical publications. He was among the first to investigate such severely nonlinear dynamic phenomena as vibroimpact of adjacent structures during earthquakes, elastic wave propagation in frictionally bonded solids, stability and deformation in wrinkling membranes, active control of large civil structures, and dynamic identification of hysteretic structures. His research in spacecraft structures includes the design of large precision deployable truss antenna structures, the design of large inflatable reflectors, and the accurate analysis of the large deformation of articulated trusses during deployment. Recent research interests include the biomechanics of the human digestive tract.

He has been a consultant to many companies including the Aerospace Corporation, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Hughes Aircraft Company, and Astro Aerospace Corporation (TRW), where he made significant contributions to the Heliogyro, Solares, Mast Flight Experiment, Milstar, Mobile Transporter, and many other projects.

A native Californian, Dr. Miller earned his B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1971 from the University of California, Davis. In 1972, he earned his M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1976 he earned his Ph.D. in Applied Mechanics from the California Institute of Technology.

Dr. Miller's interests as a university leader go considerably beyond engineering and include innovation in undergraduate education, business entrepreneurship, and academic administration. He has won five major teaching awards at two universities. He is a member of AIAA, ASME, ASCE, ASEE, Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma Xi.

Dr. Miller and his wife Beth first met in elementary school in Tranquillity, California, and have two daughters, Katherine and Julia.
 
 
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