Dr. Dean Neikirk won the External Advisory Committee's coveted High Gain Award for guiding the Department's graduate program for the last 9 years. Dr. Neikirk serves as the ECE Graduate Advisor. Until recently, he was the chairman of the Graduate Studies Committee as well. These jobs call for diplomacy, discretion, decisivness, and follow-through. I really admire Dr. Neikirk, says graduate coordinator, Melanie Gulick. He's served on committees all over the university, so he understands UT policy, but he's no bureaucrat. He tries to help every student succeed. He doesn't sweat the small stuff and he is very interesting to talk to.

Dr. Neikirk's research concentrates on the fabrication and modeling of electromagnetic and micromachined sensors and actuators. His research project related to development of new chemical sensors (an “electronic taste” sensor) was selected for a commercialization venture between The University of Texas and LabNow, Inc.