Harvard Dean of Science Christopher W. Stubbs said he did not know the status of the search for his successor, even though he is scheduled to leave his position at the end of the semester.
After Stubbs announced his retirement from the deanship late last semester, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Hobie E. Hoekstra said in February that she hoped to appoint a successor quickly to achieve “as much overlap as possible” with Stubbs' tenure.
But Stubbs said he had no indication that an announcement was imminent.
“I don’t know anything about the timeline,” Stubbs said.
“My manager is appointing my successor,” Stubbs added. “I will refer you to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.”
During an interview on Wednesday, Stubbs praised Harvard's newly launched PhD program in Quantum Science and Engineering, which includes faculty from the Department of Science and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, calling it “a true success story.”
The program has received about half of the applicants for Harvard's prestigious physics program, although there are no graduates yet, Stubbs said.
“The intellectual thirst really resonated with us,” Stubbs added.
Stubbs also talked about other potential collaborations between the Science Department and SEAS.
“I think there is a strong synergy between computer science, applied mathematics and statistics,” Stubbs said.
The relationship is already strong, according to Stubbs, with “a large number of people recruited” in physics and materials science.
He said future officials must maintain this “long, close, historical relationship.”
Stubbs also discussed FAS's aging science facilities, noting how the department is “trying to do cutting-edge science in buildings that are in some cases centuries old.”
Stubbs stated that we are “basically at saturation” of existing lab space. He added that the primary role of the department office is to find new plans to suit all faculty members and programs.
“We're always doing this improvement game,” he said.
Stubbs — who will remain an advisor to Hoekstra on artificial intelligence — would not say whether the department has seen an increase in unauthorized use of AI within the classroom, but described the technology as “a seductive intellectual shortcut.”
“I'm definitely one of the people who thinks it's a really big deal and a disruptive technology,” Stubbs said.
-Staff writer Elizabeth Peng can be reached at [email protected].
—Staff writer Nicholas J. can be reached at Frumkin at [email protected].
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