The dean of the College of Engineering, Jose Cruz, Jr., has become the first person named to the newly established Howard D. Winbigler Designated Chair in Engineering.The term will begin July 1 and continue through June 2002. An annual $75,000 will be allotted to support his work.The chair is a special position and an award created for senior faculty to support special projects like research, travel and supporting graduate and undergraduate students, said Bud Baeslack, associate dean of the college.Baeslack said that Cruz’s work prompted the position’s creation.”He is an eminent scholar and the (college) chairs wanted to recognize his national reputation by creating this chair,” Baeslack said.Cruz’s five-year term as dean of the College of Engineering ends in June. “I plan to be a professor and supervisor and do service to the students and the community,” Cruz said. “I feel honored, particularly since this was endorsed by all the chairs of engineering.”Cruz specializes in game theory in electrical engineering and control systems, which he will teach beginning fall quarter.Cruz also serves as chair of the Transportation Research Center board of directors and is a member of the National Regulatory Research Institute board of trustees and the National Academy of Engineering.He is a vice president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, with 350,000 members worldwide. Past vice presidents include Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell.He is currently training one graduate student working toward his doctorate and says he would like to work with one or two more next year.Cruz came to Ohio State five years ago from the University of California at Irvine, where he served as chairman in the department of electrical and computer engineering.The chair is named for 1915 OSU graduate Howard D. Winbigler, who earned a degree in mechanical engineering and left a fund for the college.