David Meaney

David Meaney, Solomon R. Pollack Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science, serves as Vice Provost for Research since 2025. Previously, he was Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Strategic Initiatives (2020–2025) and Chair of the Bioengineering Department (2007–2019), elevating its US News ranking to #4 and tripling per capita research output.

• Research Focus: Concussion prevention/detection, brain injury recovery prediction, and neural resilience to trauma. Collaborated with the National Football League and served on a Congressional Blue Ribbon Panel for roller coaster safety.
• Education: BS in Biomedical Engineering (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), MS and PhD in Bioengineering (Penn), followed by a 2-year postdoc at Penn.

Key Initiatives: Co-led Structured, Active, In-Class Learning (SAIL) for STEM courses; Penn Health-Tech for medical device innovation; Center for Innovation and Precision Dentistry; and cross-campus centers like the Penn Advanced Research Computing Center and Center for Quantum Information, Engineering, Science, and Technology.

Honors:

• National Science Foundation CAREER Award
• Y.C. Fung Young Investigator Award (ASME)
• Lindback Award (Penn's highest teaching honor, 2021)
• Ford Motor Company Advising Award (2019)
• Trustees Council of Penn Women Advising Award (2014)