By:
Tom Nordlie (352) 392-0400Source:
Dorota Haman dhaman@ufl.edu, 352-392-1864 ext. 105
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Dorota Haman has been appointed chairwoman of the University of Florida’s agricultural and biological engineering department. The appointment becomes effective May 1.
Haman, a professor of agricultural and biological engineering who has been with UF 21 years, is the second woman to lead the department. She succeeds Wendy Graham, who departed the position in 2006 to become director of UF’s Water Institute.
“It’s kind of exciting to be the second woman chair in our department, especially since there are no other women in this position in the country,” Haman said.
Haman said as chairwoman her top priority will be to promote progress of the faculty’s research, education and extension endeavors, and raise the department’s national and international standing. It is currently ranked 11th in the nation overall, according to U.S. News and World Report magazine.
Interdisciplinary collaborations also will be a priority, she said.
An irrigation engineer, Haman is primarily involved in management of irrigation systems, crop water requirements, irrigation scheduling and sustainability of irrigation systems. She is well known for her international extension efforts in irrigated agriculture.
She is co-holder of two U.S. patents and has garnered almost $1.2 million in research funding since being promoted to full professor in 1998. She serves on the board of directors of the U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage and is a member of the UF Water Resources Focus Team.
Arriving at UF in 1985, Haman was the first woman faculty member in what was then the agricultural engineering department. She was an instructor and graduate assistant at Michigan State University from 1977-84, a research specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1976-77 and a research specialist with the Institute of Crops and Vegetables in Skierniewice, Poland in 1973-76.
She earned master of science and doctoral degrees in agricultural engineering from Michigan State and a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from the University of Warsaw in Poland in 1973.
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