During their December meeting, the University’s Board of Regents approved S. Jack Hu, current interim vice president for research, to serve as vice president for research from Jan. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 2018.
Hu will be responsible for furthering research across all University campuses and will oversee the Office of Research, which is dedicated to encouraging and supporting research as well as working with research policy.
He has served as the interim vice president since January 2014. During his tenure, the Mobility Transformation Center opened the MCity test facility for connected and automated vehicles. In addition, the University invested $100 million for a new campuswide initiative in data science.
Previously, Hu was the Engineering associate dean for research and graduate education from 2007 to 2009. He has worked with the President’s Office on President Obama’s Advanced Manufacturing Partnership to improve American manufacturing, serving as a board member of the American LightWeight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute.
The University description for the position said top candidates would be scholars with international recognition, as well as individuals with experience managing research funding and leading interdisciplinary research teams.