APRIL - JUNE 2020 | VOL.50 | NO.2
PINES NAMED NEXT UMD PRESIDENT This article is republished with permission by Maryland Today, published February 13, 2020 . The entire article can be found at https://today.umd.edu/
The University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents appointed Darryll J. Pines, dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering, as the 34th president of the University of Maryland, effective July 1. Pines, who will succeed President Wallace D. Loh after a decade in the position, has spent 25 years on the College Park campus, serving as both dean and the Nariman Farvardin Professor of Aerospace Engineering since January 2009. He arrived in 1995 as an assistant professor and chaired the Department of Aerospace Engineering from 2006 to 2009. His notable accomplishments as dean include improving teaching in fundamental undergraduate courses and raising student retention, achieving success in national and international student competitions, placing new emphasis on sustainability engineering and service learning, promoting STEM education among high school students, increasing the impact of research programs and expanding philanthropic contributions to the school. Pines called it an honor to accept the position of president at Maryland, a place he knows and loves. “As professor and dean of engineering, I am well acquainted with and have long admired the outstanding faculty, the executive leadership, and the passionate and civically engaged alumni and students who make Maryland such a special place,” he said. “I’m excited by this new challenge and can’t wait to listen, learn and lead this incredible university.” Chancellor Jay A. Perman, MD, said the selection of Pines should be well received across the system. “This is the first major appointment since I became chancellor, and it’s something that I felt we had to get absolutely right— so I couldn’t be more pleased to see Darryll Pines appointed as the next president
of the University of Maryland, College Park,” Perman said. Under Pines, the Clark School was a key player in the successful conclusion of the University of Maryland’s most recent $1 billion campaign, raising more than $240 million—well over the school’s initial fundraising goal of $185 million. For Fearless Ideas, the Clark School has already raised $503.9 million, exceeding its $500 million goal. Most notably, Pines and his leadership team were instrumental in securing a $219.5 million investment— which was in 2017, the sixth-largest ever to a public university—from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation. Pines has also made diversity at the student, staff and faculty levels a hallmark of his tenure. Under his leadership and as a co-principal investigator, the university became an National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant recipient under the theme of developing “A Culture of Inclusive Excellence,” which is focused on improving work environments, retention and advancement of tenured and tenuretrack women faculty in ways that improve the culture for all faculty. At the Clark School, the number of tenured and tenuretrack women and underrepresented faculty has more than doubled under Pines’ leadership. During a leave of absence from the university from 2003 to 2006, Pines served volume 50 | no. 2 | p 1
as program manager for the Tactical Technology Office and Defense Sciences Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). There, he initiated five programs primarily related to the development of aerospace technologies, for which he received the Department of Defense’s Distinguished Service Medal. He also held positions at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Chevron Corp. and Space Tethers. At LLNL, Pines worked on the Clementine spacecraft program, which discovered water near the south pole of the moon. A replica of the spacecraft now sits in the National Air and Space Museum. He has served and continues to serve on the boards of several major corporations and not-for-profit organizations, including Engility Corp., Aurora Flight Sciences and Underwriters Laboratory. In 2015, Pines was awarded the Maryland House of Delegates Speaker’s Medallion, presented to a citizen who has made an outstanding contribution to the state. In 2018, Pines was recognized with the University of Maryland President’s Medal, and last year he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his “inspirational leadership and contributions to engineering education.” Pines’ current research focuses on structural dynamics, including structural health monitoring and prognosis, smart sensors and adaptive, morphing and biologically inspired structures, as well as the guidance, navigation and control of aerospace vehicles. He is a fellow of the Institute of Physics, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and has received an NSF CAREER Award. Pines received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.