Amanda Mott, Penn Today
David Meaney has been named vice provost for research at the University of Pennsylvania, effective Aug. 1. He is senior associate dean for faculty development and strategic initiatives and the inaugural Solomon R. Pollack Professor of Bioengineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
The announcement was made by Provost John L. Jackson Jr.
“Dave Meaney is a dynamic and deeply experienced leader, who is engaged with every aspect of research at Penn, from cross-campus partnerships, to space and capital planning, to initiatives in technology and entrepreneurship,” Jackson said. “He has an exciting and expansive vision for the future of research, which will be more important than ever as our strategic framework, In Principle and Practice, calls us to lead on the great challenges of our time, accelerating interdisciplinary innovation across our campus and our city.”
As senior associate dean in the School of Engineering and Applied Science since 2020, Meaney has spearheaded major initiatives to advance wellness, faculty development, facilities expansion, and capital planning across the School. He has been a key partner in the development of such interdisciplinary, cross-campus initiatives as Structured, Active, In-Class Learning for introductory STEM courses; the landmark Penn Health-Tech, which facilitates the creation of new medical devices and health care technologies; the first-of-its-kind Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry, which promotes engineering technologies for oral health; and innovative cross-school partnerships, including the Penn Advanced Research Computing Center, the Innovation in Data Engineering and Science Initiative, the Energy and Sustainability Initiative, the Center for Precision Engineering for Health, and the Center for Quantum Information, Engineering, Science, and Technology. He served from 2007-19 as chair of the Department of Bioengineering.