AUSTIN, Texas — Dr. Juan Sanchez, a professor of mechanical engineering and widely-published authority in the areas of materials science and engineering, has been named interim vice president for research at The University of Texas at Austin. The appointment was made by President Larry R. Faulkner and is effective Aug. 1.
Sanchez, who currently is associate vice president for research, will hold the position while a national search is conducted to replace Vice President Marye Anne Fox. Fox is leaving UT Austin to become chancellor of North Carolina State University and assumes her new duties Aug. 1.
The vice president for research at the University is responsible for administrative support of research at UT, including that conducted in off-campus sites. The office, which oversaw $241 million in sponsored research projects in 1996-97, is responsible for a broad range of departments and interdisciplinary units, in addition to six organized research units.
“The University is fortunate to be able to call on Juan Sanchez at this time,” said Faulkner. “Not only is he a distinguished scientist with a very fine record in his own research program, but he also possesses unmatched knowledge of the broader range of research interests on this campus. I am grateful for his willingness to serve, and I look forward to working with him in the months ahead.” Before joining the UT faculty in 1989, Sanchez, 49, was professor of materials science at Columbia University. He also has served on the faculties at the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos, Brazil and at the University of California at Berkeley. At UT, Sanchez also holds the Temple Foundation Endowed Professorship No. 4.
“I have always been proud to be associated with a university that is clearly one of the greatest resources of the state and the nation,” said Sanchez. “Therefore, I am very honored by the opportunity extended by President Faulkner to serve on his administrative team.
“The research enterprise at the University is in excellent shape and continues to improve every day. The credit goes to the leadership of Dr. Marye Anne Fox, our deans and the superb contributions of our faculty and students. During this interim period, my hope is to provide continuity to the Office of the Vice President for Research and, with the help of the deans and the faculty, continue to build on our research portfolio.”Sanchez is the author and co-author of 140 technical publications on a wide range of topics. His current research interests are in the electronic, thermodynamic and structural properties of materials, especially intermetallic compounds, magnetic and non-magnetic alloys, thin films and magnetic multilayers. The research of Sanchez and his students has been sponsored primarily by the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.
