Ravi Bellamkonda, a renowned biomedical engineer who has led one of the top-ranked departments in the country, will be the new Vinik Dean of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, President Richard H. Brodhead and Provost Sally Kornbluth announced Tuesday.

Bellamkonda is the Wallace H. Coulter Professor and chair of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, a unique collaboration between the two Atlanta institutions at which he holds a joint faculty appointment.  His Duke appointment, which is effective Aug. 1, comes after an international search chaired by Jeff Glass, professor of electrical and computer engineering. Bellamkonda succeeds Tom Katsouleas, who was named provost of the University of Virginia in 2015.

“The ascent of the Pratt School of Engineering has been an important development in Duke’s ability to generate knowledge in service to society, as engineering plays a critical role in addressing virtually every contemporary challenge,” Brodhead said.  “Ravi Bellamkonda has a record of outstanding personal accomplishment and visionary leadership. Working with Pratt faculty and students, he will continue Duke Engineering’s remarkable trajectory and will be an excellent partner across the university.”