Office of the Provost

Dear Colleagues,

I am very pleased to announce the reappointment of Steven Suib as Director of the Institute of Materials Science (IMS) for a third term of five years, effective August 23, 2023.

This renewal recognizes Dr. Suib’s successful leadership as the director of the Institute since 2013. A few highlights from Dr. Suib’s tenure include hiring 10 new faculty who brought considerable diversity and research strength to the Institute; retention of key staff members; establishing and renewing eight Centers of Excellence; the first two awards as primary recipient at UCONN from ARPA-e; funded multi-investigator MURI, DOE EERE, NSF, and DoD efforts; three GAANN Fellowship (Polymer Program and MSE) awards totaling $2.2M in student aid; increasing the members of the Industrial Affiliates Program; substantial growth of all research programs; establishing a new Certificate Program in Characterization of Advanced Materials; and successful operation during COVID.

The review process works best when it is collaborative and comprehensive. I am grateful to all of the staff, faculty, administrators, and other key partners of the Institute of Materials Science who shared feedback about Dr. Suib’s leadership. There were several common themes regarding Director Suib’s leadership, including his strong advocacy for his faculty and the IMS labs, and his success in promoting and securing resources for them. Dr. Suib is also known to be approachable and responsive, patient, thoughtful, and pragmatic, with a strong work ethic. Dr. Suib is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and Fellow of the American Chemical Society and National Academy of Inventors, with over 700 research papers and 80 patents to his credit. These qualities contribute to the consensus that Dr. Suib is a strong administrator and outstanding researcher who can lead growth and innovation at IMS.

I would like to thank the review committee for their thoughtful oversight of this process. The committee was chaired by Emmanouil (Manos) Anagnostou, Interim Executive Director of the Innovation Partnership Building at UConn Tech Park & Director of the Eversource Energy Center, and included the following members:

• Mark Aindow, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering & Executive Director for Innovation, External Engagement, and Industry Relations, OVPR
• Christian Brueckner, Department Head and Professor of Chemistry
• Brianna Demers, Finance Director, Institute of Materials Science
• Rainer Hebert, Associate Director, Institute of Materials Science
• Michael Schrier, Storrs Campus Architect and Director of Design and STEM Projects, UPDC
• Julie Schwager, Associate Vice President for Research Finance
• Kathy Segerson, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Economics

In sum, Dr. Suib is a thoughtful, collaborative, and inclusive leader. He continues to promote the interests and needs of the Institute, and is highly respected for his leadership of IMS and as a scientist of distinction.

Please join me in congratulating Steven Suib on his reappointment and thanking him for his dedication and hard work on behalf of the Institute of Materials Science and the University.

Sincerely,

Anne

Anne D’Alleva, PhD
Provost and Executive Vice President
University of Connecticut
Office of the Provost
352 Mansfield Road, U-1086
Storrs CT 06269-1086
Tel. 860-486-4037

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