Skinner to serve as interim dean of the Lance College of Mines and Engineering
Dr. Jack Skinner has been appointed as the interim dean of the Lance College of Mines and Engineering at Montana Technological University. Skinner fills the position previously held by Dr. Ken Lee who left for a position at Farmingdale State College.
Dr. Skinner graduated in 2000 from Montana Tech with a B.S. in General Engineering with a Mechanical Engineering Option. He went on to receive an M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Washington State University and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Skinner worked as a graduate researcher at the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC), Berkeley, California, during his time as a Ph.D. student. He worked at Sandia National Laboratories for nearly ten years, earning the rank of principal member of technical staff before becoming a faculty member at Montana Tech in 2012.
Dr. Skinner returned to Montana Tech in 2012 as an assistant professor in Mechanical Engineering in the General Engineering Department and was the founding department head of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Dr. Skinner is a dedicated educator, a highly productive scholar, and a passionate advocate for Montana Tech. Dr. Skinner has mentored over 60 students in research and overseen over $10 million in research grants since coming to Montana Tech. As an educator and researcher, he has earned four Rose and Anna Busch Teacher of the Year awards, three merit awards for excellence in teaching, research, and service, two distinguished researcher awards, and an alumni recognition award.
Dr. Skinner built the first cleanroom facility at Montana Tech and is the founding director of the Montana Tech Nanotechnology Laboratory. His research efforts have resulted in over 65 journal articles and 108 conference presentations, and he has won numerous international research awards including best journal article, best poster, most read article, and many micrograph awards. He is currently an associate editor for the MRS Advances journal and has been nominated and chosen to serve on the Steering Committee for the International Conference on Electron, Ion and Photon Beam Technology and Nanofabrication and will serve as conference chair and chief executive officer for the 69th conference in 2026.
Dr. Skinner holds 12 granted patents and numerous pending patents and is highly active in leadership in private industry with a focus on job creation and economic development in the local community.