Yale Deputy Provost to Fill Newly Created Position at NYU; Will Take Leading Role in Shaping Research Strategy.
New York University President John Sexton and Provost David McLaughlin today announced the appointment of Pierre Hohenberg, a physicist who was until recently the Deputy Provost for Science and Technology at Yale University, to the newly established post of Senior Vice Provost for Research at NYU. In this post, Dr. Hohenberg will provide University-wide leadership in advancing research at NYU, will coordinate research between various schools of the University, and will play an important role in the strategic planning for the University’s research enterprise. Dr. Hohenberg will assume his new duties at the end of the semester.
The University receives some $300 million a year from government, foundation, and private sources to support its research enterprise.
John Sexton said, “It is hard to overstate the importance that we attach to this new position. NYU is a research university - part of that select and special segment of higher education that, in addition to educating young people, also creates new knowledge, advances human understanding, and prepares the next generation of faculty and professionals. The research enterprise is the University’s heart. Its success is what draws distinguished and esteemed scholars to our ranks.
“Given the quality and extent of the scholarship here at NYU, the absence of a position such as this has been keenly felt. To be able to fill it with someone of Pierre Hohenberg’s caliber and experience is a source of great pride to us. It is a validation of all that we have been doing, and as we make important investments in research, and in scientific research in particular, his wisdom and guidance will be of enormous benefit. I do not think we could have found someone better to be the first Senior Vice Provost for Research. On behalf of the entire University community, I welcome him to NYU.”
David McLaughlin said, “Pierre Hohenberg is simply an outstanding choice to take on this challenge. A superb scientist with a track record of proven leadership in academic research, Dr. Hohenberg will be an absolutely critical member of the Provost’s Office, a crucial participant in the strategic planning for the University, and a strong advocate for excellence and scholarship among our faculty. I am very pleased he has accepted our offer, and I am sure we will all enjoy working with him.”
Dr. Hohenberg is the Eugene Higgins Adjunct Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Yale. From 1995 to 2003, he served as Yale’s Deputy Provost for Science and Technology. Prior to coming to Yale, he had a 30-year association with AT&T Bell Laboratories, one of the world’s pre-eminent corporate research institutions; from 1985 to 1989, he was head of the theoretical physics department there. He was also a professor of theoretical physics at the Technical University of Munich from 1974 to 1977.
He received his bachelor’s (1956), master’s (1958), and doctoral (1962) degrees, all in physics, from Harvard University. His principal areas of scholarship include condensed matter physics, statistical physics, and non-equilibrium phenomena. He is particularly well-known as one of the originators of Density Functional Theory and of the Dynamical Scaling Theory of critical phenomena.
He has been the author or co-author of more than 100 publications. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, among which are: member of the National Academy of Sciences, fellow of the American Physical Society, fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the recipient of the Fritz London Prize for Low Temperature Physics, the Max Planck Medaille of the German Physical Society, and the Lars Onsager Prize of the American Physical Society. In addition, Dr. Hohenberg has served on numerous advisory committees to universities, federal agencies, and national and international professional organizations.
New York University, a member of the selective Association of American Universities, is located in the heart of Greenwich Village, was established in 1831 and is one of America’s leading research universities. It is one of the largest private universities, and it has more international students than any other college or university in the U.S. Through its 14 schools and colleges, NYU conducts research and provides education in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, business, dentistry, education, nursing, the cinematic and dramatic arts, music, public administration, social work, and continuing and professional studies, among other areas.