Arkansas Engineer

The magazine of the University of Arkansas College of Engineering

Two Long-Serving Department Heads Retire from College

by | May 30, 2024 | Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Faculty, Fall 2023 | 0 comments

The College of Engineering said goodbye over the summer to two long-serving department heads — Juan Balda, who was head of electrical engineering for 13 years, and Lalit Verma, who was head of biological and agricultural engineering for 21 years.

Juan Balda

Juan_Carlos_Balda

Balda’s retirement marks the end of a 34-year career filled with transformative contributions to electrical engineering education and research, said Dean Kim Needy. She praised Balda’s leadership and tireless advocacy.

 

“His legacy will continue to shape the university and inspire future generations of students, faculty and alumni in the years to come,” she said. “I will miss the way he can make you laugh, sometimes even during the toughest moments.”

 

Balda’s work ethic and unwavering dedication to the program earned him the admiration of peers.

 

 

 

“No one works harder in the college than Dr. Balda,” said John English, professor of industrial engineering and former dean of the college. “He is in the office all the time, including many weekends. As department head, he ran the unit faithfully and diligently while carrying a full research and service load.”

 

Balda earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Universidad Nacional del Sur in Argentina and Ph.D. from University of Natal in South Africa. He worked as a visiting assistant professor at Clemson before joining the U of A College of Engineering in 1989.

Reflecting on his time at the U of A, Balda expressed pride in the achievements of the electrical engineering undergraduate program.

 

“Our undergraduate program is among the best within our region, including bordering states and beyond. I am proud of having contributed to this achievement. Our undergraduate students have more opportunities beyond the classroom that enrich their educational experiences,” Balda said.

 

Balda’s influence has extended beyond the classroom and into research. He was the only faculty member studying his area of power engineering when he joined the college. Today, power engineering covers traditional power systems but is transitioning to a new energy paradigm relying on renewable energy sources, utility-scale energy storage and new high-voltage power semiconductor devices based on silicon carbide materials — a much broader field that also includes electric propulsion.

 

“Having been part of this transformation was an excellent professional experience. Today, the UA Power Group is one of the most important research teams in the United States and, I would say, the world,” Balda said.

 

Balda said leading the department has been rewarding, but it’s the people who he will miss.

 

“On the personal side, I have been blessed to work with individuals committed to undergraduate and graduate education — whether they were staff, faculty or administrators — all enabled me to move the department to a higher level. I will definitely miss working with them,” Balda said.

Lalit Verma

Lalit Verma

Verma served for 21 years as head of the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and two as interim dean of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. He also served as interim associate vice president for academic programs for the Division of Agriculture from 2008 to 2010.

During his tenure, the department saw critical advancements in research and teaching programs.

 

“The most gratifying thing in my 23 years here has been creating and implementing the research, teaching and service programs for our citizens,” Verma said. “Recruiting young faculty and facilitating the growth of their individual programs while contributing to the departmental goals has been very rewarding.

“The support and invaluable contributions of our dedicated support staff and faculty have been the reasons for our sustained successes,” he said.

 

The Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering includes research and extension programs of the U of A System Division of Agriculture and research and academic programs of the College of Engineering.

 

“Dr. Verma came at a crucial stage when emerging technologies were opening new avenues of research and development for agriculture, the environment, food and human health,” said Jean-François Meullenet, senior associate vice president-research for the Division of Agriculture and director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. “Under his leadership, research in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering has reached exciting heights of achievement in all these fields that improve the state’s agricultural and food industries and made life better for all Arkansans.”

College of Engineering Dean Kim Needy said, “It’s hard to imagine the campus without him. We will sorely miss our dear friend and colleague and wish him much happiness in his retirement.”

 

Verma oversaw the advancement of biological research programs, including the design and implementation of the biomedical engineering program. Recruiting talented faculty and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration across multiple departments, including joint faculty appointments across departments and colleges at the U of A, he built a research program focused on advancing health technology.

At the same time, under Verma’s leadership, the department continued to focus and advance research and extension programs in the land-grant mission to support Arkansas’ agricultural communities and economy.

In particular, Verma said he is proud of faculty hires and program initiatives in sustainable engineering for water, food and energy systems.

Verma earned his Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Nebraska. He joined the U of A in 2000

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