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The vice president for research connects faculty researchers inside the university with each other and, perhaps more importantly, with external constituencies. This vice president must have an understanding of national labs, corporations, international corporations, and international governments.
In his new role, Bernstein will serve as a member of the university's senior leadership team, reporting to the president and working closely with the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. Bernstein will be responsible for sustaining strong growth in the university's research programs which, in the most recent fiscal year, resulted in over $325 million in research awards. He will facilitate the development of new, multidisciplinary research proposals and activities, particularly those working across university campuses, government agencies and the business sector.
Bernstein will also develop partnerships and agreements with government and industry, leading to expansion of research projects at M-Square, the university's research park. He will also oversee some of the university's major research centers, including the Center for Advanced Study of Language and the National Center for the Study of Terrorism and the Response to Terrorism.
As acting director of research and development for Homeland Security, Bernstein currently has primary responsibility for a significant portion of the extramural research programs within the Science and Technology Directorate, including homeland security-related research at all the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Laboratories, universities (particularly DHS Centers of Excellence) and DHS-related laboratory facilities. He is the departmental representative for developing joint programs with other key science-based federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation, DOE Office of Science, Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.
"Mel Bernstein brings rich experiences bridging the activities and needs of government agencies to those of major research universities. This high-level experience suits him ideally for taking on the charge of connecting the University of Maryland to the federal and private sector organizations in the Greater Washington region and beyond," said President C. D. Mote, Jr. "Leveraging these connections will pay great dividends on behalf of our students, the state of Maryland, and the larger community."
In 2003, Bernstein created Homeland Security's Office of University Programs, where he has since served as its director. In that role, he led the establishment of a growing and integrated network of merit-based national centers, bringing the best academic talent from engineering, the physical, life and social sciences and the humanities, to work in areas critical to homeland security. The network and its educational programs have fostered the development of strong linkages among the academic community, DHS and other agencies and business environments. These programs have been recognized for their innovation and promise of success by Congress, OSTP and other federal agencies.
"I am very excited to be joining such a vibrant institution and look forward to contributing to its continued growth as one of the preeminent research and educational US universities. I look forward to working with my new colleagues in the successful development of large multi-disciplinary programs in a number of contemporary research and educational areas, currently under active discussion both in this country and abroad," said Mel Bernstein.
Bernstein, who holds a doctorate in Metallurgy and Material Science, Columbia University, has a long and rich background in higher education leadership. Bernstein is currently serving at DHS on leave from Tufts University, where, from 1991 to2001, he served as vice president for arts, sciences and engineering and dean of the faculty of arts, sciences and engineering; and professor of mechanical engineering and physics. He has also been provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Brandeis University and provost and academic vice president and then chancellor and senior vice president at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He provided leadership from 1972 to 1987 in the full range of academic positions—from assistant professor to department chair and associate dean of engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.
Bernstein has authored or co-authored more than 150 scientific and technical papers; co-edited four books, including a widely used handbook on stainless steels; and published numerous articles and interviews on K-16 education issues. He is a much sought-after speaker, and has been cited with numerous awards and other honors across the field, most recently recognized as the Andrew Carnegie Lecturer, ASM International Golden Triangle Chapter, 2006.