WPI's new chief research officer eyes next level projects

Courtesy WPI has put Bogdan Vernescu in charge of directing the school's research and controlling its intellectual property and innovation.

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By Sam Bonacci

Worcester Polytechnic Institute has named Bogdan Vernescu as the school’s vice provost for research, putting him in charge of directing the school’s research and controlling its intellectual property and innovation.

The professor of mathematical sciences would take over the position permanently, the school announced Tuesday, having served in an interim basis since 2014. As the university's chief research officer, the VPR provides the vision and leadership to enhance faculty research efforts and increase support for research at WPI by government agencies, corporations, foundations and other organizations, according to a release from the school.

Vernescu has already helped to build up WPI’s research outreach, creating new joint research programs with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, including the launch of an annual research seed funding program that encourages research partnerships between UMass Medical and WPI faculty members.

Vernescu said WPI's research enterprise has grown over the past five years with the recruitment of research-active faculty members, the doubling of WPI’s external research awards and the development of a campus infrastructure to support research.

"We are well positioned to take our research efforts to the next level and successfully compete for and lead the kinds of large-scale interdisciplinary, multi-institution research projects that define world-class research today,” he said in a press release.