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Kenneth Goodson
Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs, Davies Family Provostial Professor, and Professor, by courtesy, of Materials Science and Engineering
Ken Goodson specializes in heat transfer and energy conversion with a focus on data centers and AI infrastructure. He has mentored 60+ Stanford graduate students to their doctorates including dozens now at tech firms and more than 20 professors at MIT, Princeton, Stanford and other schools. Under the DARPA ICECool Programs, his group built a world-record heat sink for power conversion.
Goodson is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, recipient of the ASME Kraus Thermal Management Medal, co-author of 35 patents, and Fellow with the National Academy of Inventors. He co-founded Cooligy, which built heat sinks for Apple and was acquired by Emerson. He is a Fellow with IEEE, ASME, APS, and AAAS and recipient of the AIChE Kern and IEEE Chu Awards.
While serving as Mechanical Engineering Chair & Vice Chair (2008-2019), Goodson led two strategic plans and recruited 15 faculty. Before starting as Stanford's Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs in 2025, Goodson served in Stanford Engineering as the Senior Associate Dean for Research & Faculty Affairs.
Goodson moonlights as a baritone oratorio soloist with appearances at Davies Symphony Hall and the Bing Concert Hall. He held voice fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Festival and received the Sudler Prize for Arts Achievement. His wife, Laura Dahl, is a concert pianist with the Stanford music faculty.
Goodson is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, recipient of the ASME Kraus Thermal Management Medal, co-author of 35 patents, and Fellow with the National Academy of Inventors. He co-founded Cooligy, which built heat sinks for Apple and was acquired by Emerson. He is a Fellow with IEEE, ASME, APS, and AAAS and recipient of the AIChE Kern and IEEE Chu Awards.
While serving as Mechanical Engineering Chair & Vice Chair (2008-2019), Goodson led two strategic plans and recruited 15 faculty. Before starting as Stanford's Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs in 2025, Goodson served in Stanford Engineering as the Senior Associate Dean for Research & Faculty Affairs.
Goodson moonlights as a baritone oratorio soloist with appearances at Davies Symphony Hall and the Bing Concert Hall. He held voice fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Festival and received the Sudler Prize for Arts Achievement. His wife, Laura Dahl, is a concert pianist with the Stanford music faculty.
Education
PhD ME, MIT (1993)
MSME, MIT. ONR Graduate Fellow (1991)
BSME, MIT. Tau Beta Pi, Pi Tau Sigma (1989)
BS Humanities, MIT. Phi Beta Kappa. Sudler Prize (1989)
Contact
Mail Code
3030