UGA names national science policy leader as next VP for research

David B. Berkowitz, an accomplished research administrator and nationally recognized science policy leader, has been selected to serve as next vice president for research at University of Georgia.

Currently serving as assistant director of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Berkowitz oversees a portfolio of approximately $1.7 billion in funding of research and infrastructure in astronomy, chemistry, materials science, mathematics and physics and also holds an appointment as the Elmer H. and Ruby M. Cordes Professor of Chemistry at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. His appointment as UGA’s vice president for research is effective July 1, 2026, with a faculty appointment in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of chemistry.

Prior to beginning his current role in 2024, Berkowitz served four years as the NSF division director for chemistry. In this position, he managed a broad portfolio of grants, centers and workforce development grants and key chemistry infrastructure at frontline facilities including the Argonne National Laboratory and the NSF National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

During his tenure at NSF, Berkowitz co-chaired both the Sustainable Chemistry Strategy Team and the Sub-Committee on Quantum Information Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In these roles, he worked under the presidential science advisor and with more than 15 federal agencies to chart national policy for these emerging fields.

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Berkowitz also spearheaded Molecular Foundations for Biotechnology, a cross-directorate NSF initiative that supports collaborative efforts to develop cutting-edge advances at the nexus of chemistry, biology, physics, computer science and engineering to transform biotechnology. This project grew into a productive interagency partnership between the National Institutes of Health and the NSF. Berkowitz was instrumental in launching a collaborative initiative, Molecular Foundations for Sustainability: Sustainable Polymers Enabled by Emerging Data Analytics, to develop polymers with a “digital thread” that includes industrial partners BASF, Dow, IBM, PepsiCo Inc. and Procter & Gamble.

“It is an honor to join the rich historical tradition at the University of Georgia, the nation’s first state-chartered university,” Berkowitz said. “UGA brims with creative talent, from the arts and humanities to the social, physical and biological sciences. I look forward to collaborating with President Morehead and Provost Ayers to nurture the university’s excellent research ecosystem and to partner with the deans, directors and the outstanding faculty to build upon UGA’s status as a thriving, collaborative research powerhouse.”

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Welcome to the campus community, Dr. Berkowitz!

Image: David Berkowitz holds an NMR tube, preparing to analyze the structure of a compound synthesized in his laboratory. Photo by Craig Chandler, University of Nebraska–Lincoln.