Robert Clark became provost in July 2016 after serving 8 years as dean of the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Science. He has also carried the title of senior vice president for research since 2012. Prior to his appointments at the University of Rochester, Clark spent 16 years of his academic career at Duke University where he served as senior associate dean for 6 years and then dean of the Pratt School of Engineering.
Clark received a BS degree in 1987 and an MS degree in 1988 both in mechanical engineering from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University before joining Michelin Research in Greenville, South Carolina. He returned to Virginia Tech to complete his doctoral work and received his PhD in 1992.
Clark is an expert in acoustics and bionanomanufacturing. He has over 130 journal publications and has been awarded the R. Bruce Lindsey Award from the Acoustical Society of America, the National Science Foundation Career Program Award, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the NASA Group Achievement Award, and in 2016 was named Engineer of the Year by the Rochester Engineering Society.
Clark is active outside academia as well. He currently serves on the board of Minerals Technologies Incorporated, Sweetwater Energy, GW Lisk, and is Chair of the Strategic Research Advisory Board for the Austrian Institute of Technology. Clark served as Chief Science and Technology Officer for bsg technologies from 2009-2013, was a co-founder for Spark IP, and has extensive consulting experience in the technology space.
In his free time, Clark is an avid fisherman, slalom skier, and musician. He is a member of a local Rochester band where he plays guitar and banjo.
