Seattle University named Dr. Burkhard Englert as the new Department Chair and Amazon Endowed Chair of Computer Science.
Englert is currently the computer science department chair at Norfolk State University in Virginia. He previously held the same role at University of North Carolina-Wilmington. His research has focused on cybersecurity, machine learning, distributed computing, distributed algorithms, and transportation network modeling and optimization.
Englert also held leadership roles at California State University Long Beach and the University of Northern Colorado. He starts at Seattle U on July 1.
Amazon began supporting the position in 2021, following the departure of the university’s former computer science chair Roshanak Roshandel, who left for a job at Amazon.
Englert will replace Steve Hanks, the current computer science department chair.
Seattle U opened its renovated Jim and Janet Sinegal Center for Science and Innovation in 2021. Amazon contributed $3 million to the building.
Other key personnel changes across the Pacific Northwest:
— Seattle biotech company Sana said in a SEC filing Thursday that Douglas Williams has resigned as executive vice president and president of research and development. Williams resigned voluntarily for personal reasons, the company said. Williams previously was president and CEO of Codiak BioSciences, and also was CEO at ZymoGenetics.
— Portland, Ore.-based digital verification technology startup SheerID named Dave Miller as chief financial officer. Miller joined the company in 2021 and was most recently senior vice president of finance. He previously worked at FinancialForce and AWS.
— Brent Phillips is the new president of Vicinity Motor, a Vancouver, B.C.-based company building electric mid-size buses and work trucks. His focus will include overseeing the completion of a manufacturing facility and U.S. headquarters near Bellingham, Wash., which marks Vicinity’s entry into the American market. Phillips joined the company in 2021.
— Seattle-based law firm Davis Wright Tremaine named Wendy Kearns as its new partner-in-charge. Kearns, who started her career as a software developer, joined the firm in 2013 and most recently served as chair of its technology practice. She previously was an attorney for Microsoft. Kearns replaces Pete Johnson, who is now Davis Wright’s interim firm-wide managing partner.
