Former Vice President for Research Named U.S. Commerce Under Secretary

University of Maryland, College Park President Darryll J. Pines and University of Maryland, Baltimore President Bruce E. Jarrell sent the following email to the campus community today:

It is with tremendous pride that we share with you the news that Laurie Locascio, Ph.D., has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as under secretary for standards and technology in the Department of Commerce. In this role, Dr. Locascio will serve as director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where she rose from a research biomedical engineer to senior leadership prior to joining the University of Maryland.

Dr. Locascio was the first person to serve as vice president for research for both the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Under her leadership, our two campuses garnered a combined $1.1 billion in external research funding—ranking the University of Maryland eighth among all U.S. public institutions in research and development spending. This is unprecedented and a tremendous accomplishment for us all, and for the state of Maryland.

During her tenure as vice president for research, Dr. Locascio championed the development of large interdisciplinary research programs, fostered technology commercialization, innovation and economic development efforts, and established strategic partnerships with industry, federal, academic and nonprofit collaborators.

Dr. Locascio will be returning home to NIST, where she spent three decades as a bioengineering researcher and an administrator. In her last role at the institute, she served as acting principal deputy director and associate director for laboratory programs and was responsible for leading the internal scientific research and laboratory programs across two campuses in Gaithersburg, Md., and Boulder, Colo.

President Biden's nomination, and now the Senate's confirmation, reflect a truth we have known for many years: Dr. Locascio is a world-class leader, scientist and innovator. Her appointment to this nationally prominent position is a point of pride for our entire research enterprise.

Please join us in congratulating Laurie Locascio on this incredible achievement and honor. We wish her every success and thank her for her service in higher education in Maryland.

Sincerely,