Winston Ko, chair of the physics department at the University of
California, Davis, has been appointed dean of the Division of
Mathematical and Physical Sciences following a seven-month national
search.

Ko, 60, will assume his new post July 1, pending approval by the UC
Board of Regents.

"We are fortunate that Professor Ko has accepted our invitation to
serve as dean," said UC Davis Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. "He is a
highly respected colleague who has a well-deserved reputation for
being able to work effectively with people to achieve the best
possible outcome, regardless of the complexity of the challenge at
hand. I am confident that his knowledge of the division and the
campus and his skills as an administrator will serve the division
well."

Added Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw: "I am
very impressed with Professor Ko's willingness to initiate pilot
programs to explore promising possibilities. That inventive approach
will serve any new dean very well."

As dean, Ko will be the division's chief academic and administrative
officer, with responsibility for its academic leadership and for
management of its faculty and staff, physical facilities and budget.

One of three divisions within the College of Letters and Science, the
Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences comprises the
departments of Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Physics and
Statistics. It has 153 full-time faculty, 1,195 undergraduate
students in eight majors and a graduate student enrollment of
approximately 375. Its research budget totaled more than $13.6
million in 2001-02.

"In the past eight years, the division has made great strides under
the leadership of Dean Peter Rock," Ko said. "I am excited and
honored to carry the torch to sustain the momentum to build a truly
great Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences -- a division
that will provide a firm foundation for the campus's goals of
achieving national and international distinction and effectively
addressing many state, national and global challenges."

Ko first joined the UC Davis faculty in 1970 as an assistant research
physicist and lecturer. He progressed through the professorial ranks
beginning in 1972, becoming a full professor in 1982. In 1991-93, he
was a Fulbright Senior Professor in Germany. In 1997-98, he served as
assistant vice provost for academic planning and personnel. He has
served as chair of the physics department since 1998.

Ko's area of academic expertise is experimental particle physics. The
author or co-author of more than 180 publications, he has performed
experiments in high energy physics at laboratories around the world,
investigating the basic constituents of matter and the forces between
them.

Ko received a bachelor's degree in physics from Carnegie Institute of
Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University), and a master's and
doctor's degree in physics from the University of Pennsylvania.

He succeeds Peter Rock, who plans to continue his environmental
geochemistry research and to complete writing projects during a
2003-04 sabbatical leave.