Cindy Nakatsu, a professor of agronomy and faculty member since 1995, has been appointed interim dean of the Purdue Graduate School.

Nakatsu succeeds John Contreni, appointed dean of the College of Liberal Arts in May.

Nakatsu

"Dr. Nakatsu's service to the university as graduate chair in agronomy and as a member of the Graduate Council has given her an inside look at how the Graduate School reaches every school and college on campus," said Provost Sally Mason.

"She has shown leadership in many other ways, such as serving on the university faculty senate and the faculty affairs committee."

Mason said there would be a national search for the new Graduate School dean.

Nakatsu's area of expertise is microbial ecology, with a focus on the conditions under which bacteria can help get rid of harmful contaminants in the environment. Her research spans many areas, such as cleaning toxins from Superfund sites and diet's effect on microbes in the gastrointestinal system.

In 1996 and 2001, Nakatsu was a visiting scholar in Ibaraki, Japan, on a Foreign Research Invitation Award from the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology. She also was a visiting research scientist in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Bergen, Norway.

A Purdue Faculty Scholar, she also was awarded the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development's Travel Award for Research in Sustainable Agriculture and Dow Elanco's Young Investigator's Award.

Nakatsu earned her bachelor's degree in biology in 1978 and her master's degree in botany in 1983 from the University of Toronto. She received her doctorate in microbiology from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, in 1993.

Contact Nakatsu at cnakatsu@purdue.edu