Ilene Busch-Vishniac is an American-born mechanical engineer and university administrator. She served as Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

from 1998 to 2003 then resigned the position to serve as President of the

Acoustical Society of America The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is an international scientific society founded in 1929 dedicated to generating, disseminating and promoting the knowledge of acoustics and its practical applications. The Society is primarily a voluntary org ...

(ASA), an elected non-gratis position, from 2003 to 2005. She served as Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

from 2007 to 2012, and as President of the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

from 2012 to 2014. In 2018 she joined startup Sonavi Labs as Chief Innovation Officer. She has written research papers for the

ASME The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

on matters related to

tribology Tribology is the science and engineering of understanding friction, lubrication and wear phenomena for interacting surfaces in relative Motion (physics), motion. It is highly interdisciplinary, drawing on many academic fields, including physics, c ...

. Busch-Vishniac received her bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics (magna cum laude) from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

in 1976. She then received her master's degree in 1978 and her PhD in 1981, both in mechanical engineering from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

University of Saskatchewan

In December 2011, Busch-Vishniac was selected as the ninth President of the University of Saskatchewan, replacing Peter MacKinnon with effect from July 2012. On May 21, 2014, she was "terminated without cause" from her position amid national criticism surrounding the Provost's decision, Brett Fairbairn, to dismiss and end the tenure of an executive director who had openly criticized the university's leadership while Busch-Vishniac was away. Busch-Vishniac criticized the decision the next day, and invited the former executive director to return as a professor. In June, 2015, Busch-Vishniac filed a lawsuit over her firing seeking $8.5 million in damages, naming Saskatchewan Premier,

Brad Wall Bradley John Wall (born November 24, 1965) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 14th premier of Saskatchewan from November 21, 2007, until February 2, 2018. He is the fourth longest-tenured premier in the province's history. W ...

, former Minister of Advanced Education, Rob Norris, as well as the university and Board of Governors and alleging that both the Premier and former Minister unlawfully influenced the Board's decision in her firing. The University is also accused of violating its bylaws when it terminated her contract. In 2019, after an attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, the University settled out of court with Dr. Busch-Vishniac.

Awards and honors

Busch-Vishniac received the ASA Silver Medal in Engineering Acoustics in 2001 for her work in developing novel

electret microphone An electret microphone is a microphone whose diaphragm forms a capacitor (historically-termed a ''condenser'') that incorporates an electret. The electret's permanent electric dipole provides a constant charge on the capacitor. Sound wave ...

s and of precision micro-electro-mechanical sensors and positioners. She was elected a Fellow of the

(ASA) in 1987, and also received the ASA R. Bruce Lindsay Award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Busch-Vishniac, Ilene Academic staff of McMaster University Presidents of the University of Saskatchewan Living people Academics from Saskatchewan Educators from Philadelphia People from Saskatoon Johns Hopkins University faculty University of Rochester alumni MIT School of Engineering alumni Fellows of the Acoustical Society of America Year of birth missing (living people) American women academics 21st-century American women