Jan Nerger, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, Colorado State University
Professor Janice L. Nerger was named Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at Colorado State University in 2010. She received her PhD in experimental psychology from the University of California, San Diego in 1988. After a two-year postdoctoral research appointment at NASA/Ames Research Center at Moffett Field and SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, she joined the faculty at Colorado State in 1990.
Dr. Nerger is internationally recognized for her research on human vision, in particular on the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying color perception. Her research has resulted in numerous publications and presentations, and recognition from the Rank Prize Foundation, the National Research Council, and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Nerger is a strong advocate for diversity, particularly for women in science, and is the co-founder of the Women in Natural Sciences organization at Colorado State University. She was also instrumental in establishing the new University center on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (CSU STEM) and chairs the STEM-Ed Deans Council. She instituted the first Professional Science Masters degree in the State of Colorado and the first interdisciplinary undergraduate degree at Colorado State University. In 2016 she was named a “Woman of Influence” and awarded the Dr. Joan King International Woman of Vision by the Colorado Organization of Women of Influence.
Nerger’s professional affiliations include the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences in which she currently serves as President, the Association for Public and Land-grant Universities, the National Professional Sciences Masters Association, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the International Colour Vision Society, and the Optical Society of America.
Dr. Simon Tavener was appointed as interim dean of the College of Natural Sciences in 2022. Prior to this, he served as the Executive Associate Dean of the college. During which he pioneered programs for graduate students, oversaw and updated curriculum and courses, and began the data science major and served as its first director.
Dr. Tavener has been a member of the college for over 20 years, starting in 2000 in the Department of Mathematics. During that tenure, Tavener was the chair of the department for eight years. His educational background includes B.E. and M.E. degrees in Engineering Science from the University of Auckland and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Oxford. He spent a year as a postdoc at the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications at the University of Minnesota and then 13 years in the Mathematics Department at Penn State.
Tavener’s current research interests are largely focused on numerical techniques for the accurate computation of multiscale, multiphysics problems, most recently including issues arising due to the presence of uncertainty.
