Radenka Maric

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Radenka Maric
17th President of the University of Connecticut
Assumed office
February 1, 2022
Preceded byAndrew Agwunobi
Personal details
BornDerventa, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina)
EducationUniversity of Belgrade (BS)
Kyoto University (MS, PhD)

Radenka Maric is an American engineer and academic who became the 17th president of the University of Connecticut on September 28, 2022. She was the first internal candidate to be named president since Harry J. Hartley in 1990 and is the institution’s second female president.[1] She had served as interim president of the University of Connecticut since February 1, 2022 and previously served as UConn's vice president for research and innovation.[2][3]

Professional career[edit]

Born and raised in Derventa, Bosnia and Herzegovina then part of Yugoslavia, Maric earned her BS from the University of Belgrade in Serbia and her MS and PhD in materials science and energy from Kyoto University in Japan.[4]

She worked as a Researcher for the Serbian Academy of Science and Art from November 1989 to October 1991. [5]

Maric was the first woman to receive a PhD in engineering from Kyoto University.

After spending 12 years in Japan, she moved to the United States in 2001 to work at a clean-energy startup in Atlanta. Three years later, she began leading the Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation at the National Research Council Canada. She joined UConn in 2010 as a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering. In 2016, she received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to accept a visiting chair professor appointment at the Polytechnic University of Milan in Italy.[6][7] Her Fulbright award supported research into High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC), a clean energy technology.

A Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor, Maric holds the faculty appointment of Connecticut Clean Energy Fund Professor of Sustainable Energy in UConn's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Department of Materials Science and Engineering.[3] Over the course of her career, she has received more than $40 million in research funding, published more than 300 articles in refereed journals and conference proceedings, and registered six patents.[7][8]

Maric became vice president for Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in July 2017. In this role, she oversaw the $375 million research enterprise at UConn and UConn Health, including the Technology Incubation Program and the Innovation Partnership Building at UConn Tech Park.[7][8] She was appointed interim president of UConn on February 1, 2022, succeeding former interim president Andrew Agwunobi, who had resigned to take an executive-level role with Humana.[9]

Maric was named a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2019. She is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.[6] She is lead author of the book Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: From Fundamental Principles to Complete Systems (Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2020).[10]

President of the University of Connecticut[edit]

As President of the University of Connecticut, Maric oversees the university's $3.1 billion budget, which supports seven campuses, including its flagship campus in Storrs and an academic medical center and hospital in Farmington, over 30,000 students, and an extensive network of research and service initiatives.[11] Maric also has oversaw large-scale construction projects and fundraising campaigns.[12]

Under Maric's tenure, UConn received the largest philanthropic gift in its history, a $40 million gift to the School of Nursing from Elisabeth DeLuca, a 1969 UConn graduate. The gift supported construction of a new home for the School of Nursing as well as scholarships and research.[13][14]

Maric, with the support of the UConn Board of Trustees, has committed UConn to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and carbon zero by 2040.[15] In October 2023, UConn hosted a national Sustainable Clean Energy Summit, with former White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy giving the keynote. Maric is applying her scientific background in clean energy technologies to support UConn's transition to clean and renewable energy.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Edison, Jaden (2022-09-28). "UConn names Radenka Maric as new president". CT Mirror. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  2. ^ "The Big Question with Radenka Maric: On the role of scientists in society". Scientific Inquirer. 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ a b McBride, Jessica (2019-05-17). "Dr. Radenka Maric, VP for Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship". University of Connecticut. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  4. ^ "Bosanka Radenka Marić postala predsjednica univerziteta u SAD" (in Bosnian). Radio Sarajevo. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Bosanka Radenka Marić postala predsjednica univerziteta u SAD" (in Bosnian). Radio Sarajevo. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b McBride, Jessica (2019-11-26). "UConn Researcher Radenka Maric Named AAAS Fellow". UConn Today. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  7. ^ a b c Ormseth, Matthew (2017-10-29). "Researcher, Painter, Pianist, Seamstress: The Many Shades of Radenka Maric". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  8. ^ a b "Maric leads UConn's research, innovation and entrepreneurship". Hartford Business Journal. 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  9. ^ Watson, Adria (2022-01-14). "Interim President Andrew Agwunobi to leave UConn". The Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  10. ^ Maric, Radenka; Mirshekari, Gholamreza (2020). Solid oxide fuel cells: from fundamental principles to complete systems. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-429-52784-5. OCLC 1228350036.
  11. ^ UConn Communications. "University of Connecticut Fact Sheet 2023" (PDF). Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  12. ^ "New construction, record-setting donation, budget battle highlight UConn President Maric's first year". Hartford Business Journal. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  13. ^ Breen, Tom (2023-10-06). "UConn School of Nursing Receives Largest Gift in University's History". UConn Today. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  14. ^ "UConn Nursing School Receives University Record Gift | NurseJournal". nursejournal.org. 2023-10-27. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  15. ^ Cosgrove, Kelly (2017-01-17). "Climate Action at UConn | Office of Sustainability". Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  16. ^ Krieger, Kim (2023-10-05). "Opportunity Lights Up UConn Sustainable Energy Summit". UConn Today. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
Academic offices
Preceded by President of the University of Connecticut
February 1, 2022 – 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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