Solomon R. Pollack Professor of Bioengineering David Meaney will serve as Penn’s new vice provost for research, according to an announcement from Provost John Jackson Jr. on July 9.
Meaney, who began teaching at Penn in 1993, will assume the role on Aug. 1. He currently serves as the senior associate dean for faculty development and strategic initiatives at the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
“Dave Meaney is a dynamic and deeply experienced leader, who is engaged with every aspect of research at Penn, from cross-campus partnerships, to space and capital planning, to initiatives in technology and entrepreneurship,” Jackson wrote in the announcement.
Meaney — who will replace Senior Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell — will oversee Penn’s scholarly partnerships to foster new discoveries and maintain the integrity of the University’s research projects.
In his role at the Engineering School, Meaney “spearheaded major initiatives to advance wellness, faculty development, facilities expansion, and capital planning across the School,” according to the announcement. He was a “key partner” in several “interdisciplinary” and “cross-campus” programs — including “landmark” technological centers, a reshaping of introductory STEM courses, and various “innovative cross-School partnerships.”
Jackson credited Meaney’s 2007-19 term as chair of the Department of Bioengineering with “raising the department’s US News ranking to fourth and tripling its per capita research to rank second among all peer universities.”
As bioengineering chair, Meaney had a hand in the construction of Amy Gutmann Hall, a new data science building for the Engineering School that opened in 2024.
According to Jackson, Meaney’s “exciting and expansive vision for the future of research” will be “more important than ever” through the “great challenges of our time” and help lead “interdisciplinary innovation” across Penn’s campus and Philadelphia.
In the announcement, Jackson emphasized his appreciation for 1993 Penn graduate and Deputy Provost Beth Winkelstein, as well as the rest of the consultative committee that led the search process for this role.
Winkelstein — who was reinstated to her position as deputy provost in January — will leave the University to serve as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Northeastern University effective Aug. 22.
Jackson also acknowledged Bonnell’s “landmark 12 years” in the position. He noted her role in “transform[ing] the landscape of research across our region, and for agreeing to extend her term through July 31.”
Bonnell and Winkelstein are among the latest administrators to announce their exits from the University community. 1985 Wharton graduate Craig Carnaroli, who serves as the University’s senior executive vice president, will also leave Penn for a position as the chief financial officer at Stanford University next fall — as will 1975 University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School graduate and Vice President of Government Affairs Jeffrey Cooper, once his successor is named.
In 2017, Meaney was awarded a $9.25 million five-year grant by Microsoft Corporation co-founder Paul Allen and his sister, Jody Allen, to study concussions, develop new treatments, and analyze the brain’s repair processes.
Meaney’s research has continued to focus on the “science of concussions,” according to the announcement. He worked with the National Football League and was on a Congressional Blue Ribbon Panel to “investigate roller coaster safety.” Meaney has also received various recognitions for his research, including the Lindback Award — the University’s highest teaching award — in 2021, along with the National Science Foundation CAREER Award.
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