Since July 1, 2015, Dr. Ashok Saxena has served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas.  Dr. Saxena received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering (1970) from the Indian Institute of Technology and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees (1972 and 1974, respectively) in Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering from University of Cincinnati. His research interests include nonlinear fracture mechanics, creep and fatigue behavior of materials, structure-property relations, design and remaining life prediction of high temperature components, and nanostructured materials.

Dr. Saxena is a Distinguished Professor, a nationally recognized engineer, former dean, vice chancellor of a new university in India and the founding chair of the Biomedical Engineering Department. At the University of Arkansas he has held the 21^st Century Graduate Research Endowed Chair in Materials Science (2003-2007), Irma and Raymond Giffels’ Endowed Chair in Engineering (2007-2012), and the George and Boyce Billingsley Endowed Chair (2014-2015).

Dr. Saxena has a long and distinguished career in academia. As a researcher, Dr. Saxena has primarily worked in the multidisciplinary fields of linear and nonlinear fracture mechanics within the disciplines of mechanical engineering and materials science. His interests over the past few years also include biomedical engineering.