About our dean

Dr. Nygren is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and currently serves as the Dean of the Schulich School of Engineering. Dr. Nygren first joined the University of Calgary as a postdoctoral associate in 1999 and has been a faculty member in the Schulich School of Engineering since 2004. Over his 20 years in the school, he has a track record of leadership responsibilities, including serving as Co-Director for the Centre for Bioengineering Research & Education (now the Department of Biomedical Engineering) 2011-2014, Associate Dean (Academic & Planning) 2014-2018, and Vice-Dean since 2018. Dr. Nygren also served as Acting Dean of the Schulich School of Engineering from July-December 2019 and Interim Dean from July 2024 to June 2025. 

Dr. Nygren has played a central role in many initiatives in the Schulich School of Engineering over the past decade, including the successful launch and accreditation of the Energy Engineering program, the establishment of the combined BSc Engineering and BComm program with the Haskayne School of Business, and implementation of significant growth in enrolment in the BSc Engineering and course-based Master of Engineering programs.

Dr. Nygren holds Master’s degrees from the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden and the University of Houston, Texas, USA and a PhD from Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA, all in Electrical Engineering. Prior to joining the Schulich School of Engineering, Dr. Nygren completed several years of postdoctoral training in Physiology & Biophysics at the University of Calgary. His research interests are in the area of computational approaches to cardiac electrophysiology and mechanisms underlying cardiac arrhythmias.