Nuclear Engineering Chair joins UNM from Penn State
August 6, 2026 - Carly Bowling
Marek Flaska has been named Chair of The University of New Mexico’s Department of Nuclear Engineering. He will begin the role on Aug. 10.
Flaska joins UNM from Penn State University’s Kenneth and Mary Alice Lindquist Department of Nuclear Engineering, where he has been a faculty member since 2015. He has 20 years of expertise in computational and experimental radiation transport focused on fundamental and applied radiation-detection applications. Prior to joining Penn State, Flaska was a postdoctoral researcher and later a research scientist at the University of Michigan. He earned his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Delft University of Technology in 2006 where he developed a fast-neutron-producing target for neutron cross-section measurements. He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Nuclear Engineering from Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava in 1999 and 2001, respectively.
“I am so delighted to welcome Dr. Flaska to UNM,” said Donna Riley, Jim and Ellen King Dean of Engineering and Computing. “I am looking forward to his leadership and vision in setting the direction for Nuclear Engineering's next chapter.”
As department chair, Flaska looks forward to furthering existing partnerships with nearby national laboratories and nuclear industry, while growing student enrollment and increasing the number of faculty.
“I want to help further improve the department’s environment and make sure everyone thrives, including faculty, staff, and students,” Flaska said. “It’s very important to me to make personal connections with faculty and staff, which is the most effective way to achieve the aforementioned goal.”
Flaska was drawn to New Mexico’s legacy in nuclear engineering and the exponentially growing energy industry.
“I see New Mexico as the most unique nuclear state in the country with its history and legacy, and I am convinced that it is destined to soon become one of the global nuclear hubs. As the only Nuclear Engineering Department in the state, UNM should be an integral part of all nuclear engineering activities in the state,” he said. “In addition, nuclear engineering experts need to explore more effective ways in communicating about past and current challenges to the public, while emphasizing the impact of nuclear engineering on our daily lives. We are on the onset of the largest nuclear expansion in human history in terms of energy production, radiation-based medical treatments, and many different industrial applications, and the UNM’s nuclear engineering department will continue playing a very important role in that expansion.”
Professor Osman Anderoglu has served as interim chair for the last year while the school conducted a national search for a permanent hire with executive search firm WittKiefer.
