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Associate V.P. for Research

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The College of Science is pleased to announce the appointment of Diane Pataki, Ph.D., as the Associate Vice President for Research at the University of Utah, effective April 1st, 2019. She will continue to serve as the Associate Dean for Research in the College of Science through July 1st, 2019.

Dr. Pataki is a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the university. Prior to arriving in Utah in 2012, Dr. Pataki received a B.A. in environmental science at Barnard College and an M.S. and Ph.D.at the Duke University Nicholas School of Environment.

Dr. Pataki’s research work is transdisciplinary and has spanned the impacts of climate change on ecosystems, coupled human-natural processes related to urban CO2 emissions, and the role of urban landscaping and forestry in the socioecology of cities. Her lab currently studies human-environment interactions related to urban biodiversity, resource use, & landscape design, and continues to collaborate with social scientists, urban planners, landscape architects, engineers, and local stakeholders to understand the ecological and social consequences of urban landscape change.

In addition to her research, Dr. Pataki served as a faculty member at the University of California, Irvine for 8 years where she was the founding Director of the Center for Environmental Biology and the Steele Burnand Anza Borrego Desert Research Center. She has also served as a Program Director in the National Science Foundation Division of Environmental Biology and a member of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Board of Scientific Counselors.

Dr. Pataki is looking forward to leading efforts across our campus to coordinate and enhance support for research proposal submissions, grantsmanship, and grants management. She will succeed Cynthia Furse, Ph.D., as the new Associate Vice President for Research. Dr. Furse will be transitioning back to full-time teaching and research on July 1st, 2019.

Please join us in thanking Dr. Furse for her exceptional service, and in welcoming Dr. Pataki in her new position.