Dear Colleagues,

It is with tremendous pride that we share the news that Laurie Locascio, PhD, MSc, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as Under Secretary for Standards and Technology in the Department of Commerce. In this role, Dr. Locascio will serve as director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where she rose from research biomedical engineer to senior leadership before joining the University of Maryland. 

Dr. Locascio was the first person to serve as vice president for research for both the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland, College Park. Under her leadership, our two institutions garnered a combined $1.1 billion in external research funding — ranking the University of Maryland eighth among U.S. public institutions in research and development spending. This is unprecedented and a tremendous accomplishment for us all, and for the state of Maryland. 

During her tenure as vice president for research, Dr. Locascio championed the development of large interdisciplinary research programs; fostered technology commercialization, innovation, and economic development efforts; and established strategic partnerships with industry, federal, academic, and nonprofit collaborators.

Dr. Locascio will be returning home to NIST, where she spent three decades as a bioengineering researcher and an administrator. In her last role at the institute, she served as acting principal deputy director and associate director for laboratory programs and was responsible for leading the internal scientific research and laboratory programs across two campuses in Gaithersburg, Md., and Boulder, Colo.

President Joe Biden’s nomination, and now the Senate’s confirmation, reflect a truth we have known for many years: Dr. Locascio is a world-class leader, scientist, and innovator. Her appointment to this nationally prominent position is a point of pride for our entire research enterprise. 

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Locascio on this impressive achievement and honor. We wish her every success and thank her for her service in higher education in Maryland.

Sincerely,

Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS

President
University of Maryland, Baltimore

Darryll J. Pines, PhD, MS

President 
University of Maryland, College Park