The University of Iowa Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development has appointed Larry Weber, Edwin B. Green Chair in Hydraulics, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and director of IIHR--Hydroscience & Engineering, as director of interdisciplinary research development, effective December 1.

Weber will bring together established teams at the UI to spur idea creation and implementation of larger, multidisciplinary institutional proposals.

“Larry has a well-earned reputation as a coalition building scientist whose work has earned praise from industry, academic and government leaders, regionally, nationally and internationally,” said Dan Reed, vice president for research and economic development.  

With a 40 percent appointment in OVPR&ED, Weber will also represent the organization on internal and external committees, agencies, and seminars.

Weber has been a UI faculty member since 1996 and since 2004 has served as the director of IIHR, a role he will continue to serve in addition to this new assignment. In 2009, he co-founded the Iowa Flood Center and in 2013 he co-founded the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, an Iowa Regents Center located at Iowa State University in partnership with University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa.

Since 2014 he has directed the UI Water Sustainability Initiative. He was also called upon by OVPR&ED to help transition the Iowa Geological Survey from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to the IIHR, which was successfully completed in 2014.

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development provides resources and support to researchers and scholars at the University of Iowa and to businesses across Iowa with the goal of forging new frontiers of discovery and innovation and promoting a culture of creativity that benefits the campus, the state, and the world. More at http://research.uiowa.edu, and on Twitter: @DaretoDiscover.