Charles G. Riordan has been appointed vice president for research, scholarship and innovation at the University of Delaware, President Dennis Assanis announced today.

Riordan, previously deputy provost for research and scholarship at the University, will continue to advance and support UD’s research enterprise, which exceeds over $140 million annually in externally funded projects, and to play a major role in shaping the future of the 272-acre Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus. A new responsibility will be to enhance faculty innovation and entrepreneurship, supporting the University’s role in economic development and job creation.

“I am delighted that Charlie Riordan has accepted this very important position for our institution, as we expand research, scholarship and innovation initiatives to benefit both the education of our students and the economy of Delaware,” Assanis said. “Charlie has demonstrated a deep commitment to UD as indicated by his many years of exemplary service to the institution and has an extensive knowledge of issues pertaining to research and scholarship. I am excited to work together with Charlie, other members of my leadership team, and all the UD faculty and staff to advance the research and scholarship mission of UD and translate our discoveries into innovation with state, national and global impact.”

“I am both humbled and excited to serve the University of Delaware in this expanded role,” Riordan said. “I look forward to working with President Assanis and with researchers and scholars at UD to ensure UD’s scholarly efforts have the greatest impact to society.  Additionally, I look forward to working with private sector and governmental leaders at all levels to make certain UD drives economic prosperity by serving as a catalyst for ‘attracting world-class talent and producing cutting-edge technologies,’ as noted by the Delaware Business Roundtable.”

As UD’s vice president for research, scholarship and innovation, Riordan is responsible for research policy development, sponsored program administration, research integrity and assurance, facilitating research development opportunities, federal government relations, and the development of core facilities serving the University research community and UD’s partners, such as the state’s first fMRI at the Center for Biomedical and Brain Imaging, which opened earlier this year.

In addition to the Research Office, Riordan now has oversight of the Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships (OEIP), which includes the Small Business Development Center. OEIP, which is led by David Weir, was transitioned from Executive Vice President Alan Brangman’s purview to Riordan’s to more closely align faculty research and scholarly activities with technology transfer and the commercialization of inventions and other research products.

The University’s five multidisciplinary research institutes also report to Riordan, including the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, Delaware Environmental Institute, Delaware Rehabilitation Institute, Institute of Energy Conversion and the UD Energy Institute.

An inorganic chemist, Riordan joined the UD faculty in 1997, served as chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from 2002–2007 and was named vice provost for graduate and professional education in 2010. He was appointed vice provost for research in September 2012 and deputy provost for research and scholarship in 2014. Riordan chaired the executive committee for UD’s Delaware Will Shine strategic plan in 2014–2015.

Among his honors, Riordan received the University's outstanding doctoral graduate advising and mentoring award in 2008. He was named a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2010 and was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2013. In 2013, he received the Delaware Section Award from the American Chemical Society for his scholarly accomplishments in the field.

Riordan has served on the editorial advisory boards of Inorganic Chemistry, the Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry and Dalton Transactions. He earned his bachelor's degree at the College of the Holy Cross and his Ph.D. at Texas A&M University.