New Assistant Vice President for Research Development and Support

We are pleased to announce that Chad Risko, Ph.D., has been named Assistant Vice President for Research Development and Support. He will assume the role on July 21.

Dr. Risko will report directly to the Associate Vice President for Research Development and Support (AVPR-DS), Dr. John Balk, and will oversee postdoctoral fellows and steer programs including the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR), Igniting Research Collaborations (IRC) and CURATE. This leadership role will assist with aligning various research activities with the university’s strategic goals, enhancing operational efficiencies, and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations across campus. Dr. Risko will collaborate with the campus research community to identify needs and opportunities and assist the AVPR-DS in their implementation.

Dr. Risko is the John C. Hubbard Professor of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences. With funding from sponsors including the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy and the Office of Naval Research, Dr. Risko’s research team studies how molecular building blocks of materials influence their formation and behavior, including electrical, optical and mechanical properties. The team develops computer models to better understand and predict these behaviors by combining ideas from chemistry, physics, data science and materials science.

He has served as faculty director of the Office of Undergraduate Research since 2021 and serves as associate editor of the journal Chemistry of Materials. He is also a member of the Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) and the Materials Science Research Priority Area (mRPA).

Dr. Risko’s honors include distinction as a Cottrell Scholar, Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Awardee, the UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award, and the College of Arts and Sciences Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentoring.

We look forward to working with Dr. Risko in this new role.