Thomas Piechota has been named interim vice president for research and dean of the Graduate College, effective July 1, 2012. This appointment was made after consultation with the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate and the Academic Council and Cabinet. A national search will be held to fill the position.

Piechota is a full professor in the UNLV department of civil and environmental engineering. Most recently, he served as associate vice president for interdisciplinary research, leading a variety of research, education, and fundraising efforts, including programs funded by donations totaling $1 million from NV Energy.

He received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2003. In 2008, he became the UNLV principal investigator on a $15 million NSF grant for the study of climate change in Nevada. He has authored or coauthored more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, conference proceedings, and reports, and his work has been cited in more than 700 publications.

Piechota holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Northern Arizona University and a master's degree and doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from UCLA. He is a licensed professional engineer in the states of Nevada and California and serves on various committees with the American Society of Civil Engineers.