Congratulations to the UF Engineering Class of 2025!
Today, we celebrate a milestone that reflects your years of dedication, resilience, and intellectual curiosity, both in the classroom and far beyond. You have distinguished yourselves not only through mastery in your engineering disciplines, but also as leaders on campus, competitors on national stages that highlighted Gator Engineering excellence, and as ambassadors of the Gator Good.
And you did not walk this journey alone. You moved forward together, collaboratively, drawing on the ingenuity, creativity, and diverse perspectives of your peers. You encourage, support, and inspire one another, and in doing so, you embody the very best of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.
Graduates, you now step into a world defined by rapid innovation and historic technological advancement. As you leave your alma mater, carrying with you the influence of your mentors and the knowledge you worked so hard to earn, remember this: you can change the world. The path forward will require thinkers who act, builders who care, and leaders who step up when it counts. You’ve shown you can do all of that. What you’ve accomplished here is undeniable proof that you’re equipped for whatever comes next.
From this day forward, you carry a legacy built by countless engineers who came before you—trailblazers who changed the world in ways big and small. It’s a remarkable lineage—and now, it includes you.
Go Gators!
Warren Dixon, Ph.D.
Interim Dean & Distinguished Professor
Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
University of Florida
Interim Dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
Warren Dixon, Ph.D. is currently the interim dean for the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida. In this role, Dixon serves as the chief academic and administrative leader, responsible for setting the vision, advancing research and education and fostering partnerships that strengthen the college’s impact.
Prior to his role as interim dean, Dixon served as chair for UF’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department where he provided academic and administrative leadership, oversaw faculty, students, and staff to advance the department’s teaching, research and service missions. He guided strategic growth, fostered innovation, and strengthened the department’s reputation within the university and the broader engineering community. During his time in the department, he was recognized as a Distinguished Professor which acknowledges an exceptional record of achievement in the areas of teaching, research and publication, and professional and public service that is recognized both nationally and internationally.
Prior to coming to UF, he worked as a research staff member and Eugene P. Wigner Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Dixon received his bachelor’s degree and doctorate from Clemson University.
His main research interest has been the development and application of nonlinear analysis and control design tools for uncertain autonomous systems and robotic systems. His work has been recognized by numerous best paper awards and early and mid-career awards. He is an ASME Fellow and IEEE Fellow, was an IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS) Distinguished Lecturer, served as the Director of Operations for the Executive Committee of the IEEE CSS Board of Governors, and served as an elected member of the IEEE CSS BOG. His technical contributions and service to the IEEE CSS were recognized by the IEEE CSS Distinguished Member Award. He was awarded the Air Force Commander’s Public Service Award for his contributions to the U.S. Air Force Science Advisory Board.