Elaine Scott joined the School of Engineering in August 2019, becoming the first female dean in the history of the School. She also holds the John M. Sobrato Endowed Professorship. Scott comes to Santa Clara University from the University of Washington in Bothell, where she was the founding dean of the School of STEM. Prior to that, she led the growth of the engineering programs at Seattle Pacific University and helped establish the Virginia Tech–Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences and its related graduate degree programs. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural engineering from the University of California, Davis, and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering and agricultural engineering from Michigan State University. She has served as a professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, Seattle Pacific University, and the University of Washington, Bothell.
Among her many accolades, Scott is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, was named the Academic Engineer of the Year by the Puget Sound Engineering Council, and received Distinguished Engineering Alumni Awards from Michigan State University and from the University of California, Davis.