Jorge V. José Named UB Vice President for Research

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The appointment of Jorge V. José, Ph.D., Matthews University Distinguished Professor and chair in the Department of Physics at Northeastern University, as vice president for research at the University at Buffalo was announced today by UB President John B. Simpson.

The appointment of José, who also is founding director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Complex Systems at Northeastern, is effective Aug. 1.

As vice president for research, José will be responsible for management of, and compliance with, regulations related to all sponsored programs and research at UB. His major goal will be the aggressive and innovative expansion of university-wide research strategies based on academic excellence and scholarship, and the integrated development of strategies to procure more research support for UB's faculty and students.

He will report to Satish K. Tripathi, UB provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

"Dr. José brings with him a wealth of scholarly and administrative expertise, and I am confident that UB's research programs and initiatives will attain new heights under his leadership," Simpson said in announcing the appointment.

"A distinguished research scientist, Dr. José has a demonstrated record of achievement in guiding major interdisciplinary research initiatives, making him ideally equipped to shape and direct UB's strategic research mission in support of our institutional commitment to academic excellence," Simpson added.

"UB is fortunate to have a proven leader of his caliber serving in this important capacity, and we are delighted to welcome him aboard."

Noting that José is "a nationally and internationally lauded scholar," Tripathi also praised him as "a skillful administrator who has experience in building nationally prominent academic departments and research centers."

Tripathi added: "Uniquely, Dr. José possesses a keen awareness of the research and scholarship issues that are prevalent across and throughout the academic disciplines. I know that the University at Buffalo will benefit greatly from Dr. José's leadership and I am absolutely delighted that he is joining the UB community."

José, a researcher in the fields of theoretical physics, condensed matter physics and biological physics, has been a member of the faculty at Northeastern University since 1980.

In 1995, he founded the university's Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Complex Systems. The center, whose researchers are drawn from several departments, including physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology and mechanical engineering, focuses on finding theoretical and experimental solutions to complex system problems. Current research areas include nanotribology (the physics of nano-friction), glasses, superconductivity, molecular biophysics, protein motors, cardiac fibrillation and neuroscientific modeling.

José conducts research in areas including the physics of molecular motors in cells; the problem of mitosis without chromosomes; the modeling of neural processes of visual attention: the neurokinematic modeling of swimming by larval Zebra Fish during capture and escape; the connection between chaos in the Newtonian limit of quantum mechanics; the multiple transformations of order in condensed matter physics; superconductivity at high temperatures, and superfluidity at low temperature.

He previously was a consultant with Exxon Corp. and Schlumberger Corp., professor and research associate at the National University of Mexico, assistant research professor at Rutgers University and assistant research professor and research associate at Brown University. From 1977-79, he was the first James Franck Fellow with the James Franck Institute at the University of Chicago.

José has been a visiting faculty member at several leading institutions, including most recently the Salk Institute for Biological Studies

The author or co-author of 130 scientific publications, he has been a referee for 10 professional journals and is co-author with E. Saletan of "Classical Mechanics: A Contemporary Approach" (Cambridge University Press, 2002). He has given more than 200 invited talks in 20 countries.

A fellow of the American Physical Society, he is a corresponding member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences. His awards have included the Manuel Sandoval-Vallarta 2004 Award from the Universidad Metropolitana de Mexico and in 2002 France's Chercheur Etranger D'Haut Niveau et de Renommee Internationale.

José earned his doctorate, as well as master's and bachelor's degrees, in physics from the National University of Mexico.