University selects David V. Rosowsky as vice president for research
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
David V. Rosowsky has been named vice president for research at Kansas State University. | Download this photo.
MANHATTAN — An expert in structural engineering, natural hazards and risk analysis and a national voice on the future of land-grant universities will serve as Kansas State University's next vice president for research. David V. Rosowsky, professor of civil engineering at the University of Vermont, has been appointed to lead all aspects of K-State's research enterprise by President Richard Myers.
"We are pleased to welcome David Rosowsky to K-State with his proven track record and his passion for the land-grant mission," said Richard Myers, university president. "His background in higher education aligns well with our strategic direction as we continue to raise our national and international profile as a major research institution. He is an innovator and accomplished communicator who can help drive focus and visibility for our research and economic development efforts."
Rosowsky, who will begin his new duties in July, will report to Myers and be a member of the president's cabinet. He will be responsible for encouraging and facilitating the integration and enhancement of research, scholarly and creative activities across the university's colleges and multiple research centers, and will lead universitywide strategic research growth activities. He will provide leadership for the acquisition of research funding, the planning and development of academic research space, patenting and commercialization efforts, the incubation of new companies and recruitment of corporate research partners, and guiding public outreach.
As vice president for research, Rosowsky will have administrative responsibility for units that support the university's research infrastructure, including the Office of Research Development, Pre-Award Services, the University Research Compliance Office and more. Several of the university's independent, interdisciplinary research facilities and research support facilities, including the Biosecurity Research Institute, the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center, K-State Innovation Partners, the Biotechnology Core Facility and the Electronics Design Laboratory, also will report to Rosowsky.
"Kansas State University is one of the nation's top land-grant universities," Rosowsky said, "with exceptional faculty, facilities, and both demonstrated and reaffirmed commitments to discovery and impact in service to the people and communities of the state of Kansas, the nation and the world. The three-part focus of this role on research, innovation and economic development is extremely exciting to me, as are the commitments to growth, new partnerships, engagement and impact. I am honored to be joining K-State at this exciting time."
Rosowsky served as provost and senior vice president at the University of Vermont from 2013-2019, where he drove significant growth in the research enterprise, the launch of several new transdisciplinary centers and institutes, and the creation of a universitywide innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Since 2019, he has been a faculty member in the civil and environmental engineering department where he has been engaged in teaching both undergraduate and graduate classes and research in earthquake engineering and post-disaster assessment. He also writes about the pandemic's impact on public universities and the opportunities for institutions to emerge from the pandemic stronger, more resilient, more accessible and more sustainable. His writing has appeared in Forbes, The Chronicle for Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, University Business, Trusteeship Magazine and several other major publications. As a recognized higher education thought-leader, Rosowsky also has been invited to speak with university leadership teams, boards and foundations on higher education leadership, finances, governance, partnerships, innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly in the context of preparing for the post-pandemic era in higher education.
Before joining Vermont, Rosowsky was dean of engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 2009-2013, head of the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering Department and A.P. and Florence Wiley chair in civil engineering at Texas A&M University from 2004-2009 and was the Richardson chair in wood engineering and mechanics at Oregon State University from 2000-2004. His early faculty career was spent as a civil engineering faculty member at Clemson University.
As a researcher, Rosowsky has supervised more than 50 graduate students and postdocs and has authored or co-authored more than 160 papers in peer-reviewed journals and more than 140 papers as part of conference proceedings. He is a recognized expert in the field of structural reliability and has been invited to share his work around the world, including in France, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. His work has received many honors, including the American Society of Civil Engineers' Walter L. Huber Research Prize and Norman Medal and the T.K. Hseih Award from the Institute of Civil Engineers in the United Kingdom. He also is fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Structural Engineering Institute.
Rosowsky earned bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering from Tufts University and a doctorate in civil engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
