Cammy Abernathy, Ph.D., the transformative former dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, retired from the University of Florida after more than 31 years of service as a professor, college administrator and institute director.
Under her 13-year leadership as dean, the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering significantly grew in stature and size. Engineering undergraduate admissions increased more than 50%, new degree programs emerged, and faculty numbers swelled. With an increase in gifts and research funding, the college’s campus footprint expanded by two state-of-the-art signature buildings. Abernathy is a fellow of the Materials Research Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Vacuum Society, American Physical Society, and the Electrochemical Society. She is also the former chair of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Engineering Deans Council and Council Delegate for the Industrial Science and Technology Section of AAAS. She is the author of over 500 journal publications, over 430 conference papers, one co-authored book, seven edited books, eight book chapters, and seven patents.
“Many would agree that she is one of the most gifted thought leaders they have ever met,” said Forrest Masters, Ph.D., the college’s interim dean. “She could see over the horizon and excelled at executing a far-ranging vision.”
Abernathy was instrumental in cultivating the $50 million catalyst gift from Herbert Wertheim and his family in 2015, a gift that named the college, created the Herbert Wertheim Laboratory for Engineering Excellence and launched a wave of new energy and funding for innovation, research and instruction. “This gift marked a momentous day for the college with the launch of a $300 million public-private partnership that leveraged funds from the state, university and private donors to support the college in becoming a world-class engineering college,” Abernathy noted in 2023.
Abernathy started with UF in 1993 as a professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, following a highly successful career at Bell Labs. She served as the college’s associate dean for academic affairs from June 2002 to July 2009, when she became dean until fall 2022.
Under Abernathy’s leadership, the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering accomplished the following:
- Raised research-funding awards to a record $118 million in 2022.
- Established the Department of Engineering Education in 2019. The department focuses on engineering education research and effective instructional methods.
- Catalyzed the completion of the Herbert Wertheim Laboratory for Engineering Excellence, which opened in 2020, and the development of the Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology, which opened in 2023.
- Facilitated the opening of the Warren B. Nelms Institute for the Connected World in 2017. The Institute has been a catalyst for research connecting people, things, processes, and data to address world challenges such as health, energy, transportation, and manufacturing.
- Expanded interdisciplinary research programs by forming wildly successful institutes, including the Engineering Innovation Institute, Engineering Leadership Institute, Center for Coastal Solutions, Florida Institute for Cybersecurity Research and the UF Transportation Institute.
“These institutes represent strategic initiatives that seek to address the most pressing issues facing society — smart traffic systems and smart cities, coastal hazards and resiliency, the Internet of Things and cybersecurity,” Abernathy wrote in 2022 upon announcing the end of her time as dean. “Outcomes from these initiatives not only put the college on par with other world-renowned engineering colleges but are also transforming the way we live and work.”
And while these numbers frame Abernathy’s success as a forward-thinking leader, her colleagues contend she was just as valuable — and loved — as an instructor.
“I think her legacy, to a degree, stems from the passion she has for students,” said Erik Sander, the Michael Durham executive director of UF’s Engineering Innovation Institute, which was established in 2010 under Abernathy’s term as dean. “In all those years, she never lost that passion for the students.”