---

As founding dean of engineering, Henry McGee led the joint VCU/Virginia Tech project to bring quality engineering education to the metro Richmond area. Dr. McGee was educated in chemical engineering and in theoretical chemistry at Georgia Tech and the University of Wisconsin. His professional work in teaching and in research over the intervening years has reflected his dual interest in both science and engineering. He is a scientist, an engineer, a teacher, an administrator and a small businessman. He was on the faculty of Virginia Tech for 23 years, including ten years as head of the Department of Chemical Engineering. Immediately before coming to VCU, Dr. McGee had served a three-year visiting appointment as a division director at the National Science Foundation (NSF). There he was responsible for a portfolio of research support in chemical and mechanical engineering at universities across the United States that annually totaled about $40 million. While at NSF, he created a new research program on environmentally conscious manufacturing that was widely applauded by NSF budget. He frequently is invited to speak before professional groups, and he has published dozens of technical papers in the scientific literature. His most recent book, "Molecular Engineering," appeared in 1991. Dr. McGee has received many honors and awards, and in May 1994 he was selected as one of 75 founding inductees into the Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni at Georgia Tech.