Dennis Livesay

Dennis Livesay is the Dave House Dean of Computing at Michigan Technological University (MTU) and holds a professorship in Applied Computing. He is also an affiliated professor in Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry. Livesay earned his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2000). His career includes roles as Dean at Wichita State University, founding member of the Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics at UNC Charlotte, and faculty positions in Chemistry and Bioinformatics.

Livesay’s research focuses on computational biophysics, bioinformatics, protein dynamics, and data science. His interdisciplinary work integrates chemistry, computing, physics, biology, and engineering to study physicochemical property variations during evolutionary divergence. He has secured $14.6M in external funding and maintains an h-index of 27. Livesay’s editorial contributions include editing volumes on protein dynamics and serving on seven journal boards, including BMC Bioinformatics.

His administrative expertise spans enrollment management, research administration, and STEM education innovation. Livesay has held leadership roles such as associate vice president of research and director of graduate programs. His current role as Dean of Computing emphasizes strategic vision for computing education and interdisciplinary collaboration.