Reed Named Vice President for Research
David Reed has
been named vice president for research, Provost Kent Wray has announced. Reed, a professor
in the School of Forestry and Wood Products, has served as interim vice
provost for research since Jan. 1. He was among four finalists selected
by a search committee for the newly created post. The primary responsibility
of the vice president for research will be to provide leadership and support
for research at the University. "Dave is
highly respected by Michigan Tech researchers," Wray said. "He
has extensive experience as a researcher and graduate student advisor,
and he understands the pressures faced by the research community."
In addition, Reed
has shown he can mentor new research faculty, as well as lead MTU toward
its goal of generating $50 million annually in external research funding.
"He has demonstrated both internally and externally that he knows
what has to be done," Wray said. "I do think
that we are on our way to being a $50 million research institution,"
Reed said. "We were at $30 million last year, and I have all the
confidence in our faculty and staff to attain that. Our job is to help
make that possible." "We have
a critical mass of highly qualified, motivated faculty and have excellent
facilities," he said. "There are many things we need to do to
support this effort, and the coming few years will be very challenging
from a research administration standpoint. "The opportunity
exists now, though, to fundamentally change the nature of this institution
while building on our historic strengths. The challenges are great, and
the resources are limited, but the potential is immense. We need to seize
this opportunity while we can." "In particular,
I'm looking forward to collaborating with [Graduate School Dean] Bruce
Rafert as we work together to expand both research and graduate education
at Michigan Tech," he added. In his 18 years
at Michigan Tech, Reed has been a principal investigator or co-investigator
on over $7 million in externally funded research. His In 2000, Reed
received the Scientific Achievement Award from the International Union
of Forest Research Organizations at its annual meeting in Vienna. This
honor is given to no more than 10 scientists every five years worldwide
and signifies international recognition of scientific achievement in forest
research. In addition, Reed
has had several international research projects, particularly in cooperation
with the Polish Academy of Sciences and similar organizations in Estonia,
Finland, Latvia and Lithuania; and was a Fulbright Scholar at the Technical
University of Lisbon in Portugal. "I am pleased
that Provost Wray has selected Dave Reed as the vice president for research,"
said search committee chair Walter Milligan, a professor in the Department
of Materials Science and Engineering. "Dave has an outstanding track
record as a researcher, as a teacher, as a principal investigator on large,
multidisciplinary projects, and as a research administrator. He is widely
respected by his colleagues at MTU and around the world. "We were
fortunate to attract four high-quality candidates to campus, and Dave
had the best combination of skills, experience and potential to lead Michigan
Tech into a new realm of research competitiveness." In addition to
promoting research, Reed will supervise Michigan Tech's Intellectual Property
and Research Services staff. "The staff
here are really great, and they make it easy for whoever is in this office,"
Reed said. "I'm looking forward to working with them and the rest
of the research community at Tech." Reed's appointment
is effective Nov. 1.
work has involved researchers from a variety of disciplines at the University
as well as from outside institutions, including the University of Michigan
and Harvard University, and his many sponsors range from the National
Science Foundation to Mead Paper.
