Suresh V. Garimella

Suresh Garimella became the 27th president of the University of Vermont on July 1, 2019.

A seasoned administrator and an accomplished educator and researcher, Dr. Garimella previously led complex and expansive portfolios at Purdue University, a top-ranked, flagship research university. As Purdue’s inaugural Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships, Dr. Garimella led a $660 million per year research enterprise, achieving five consecutive years of record research funding. He also oversaw Discovery Park, a unique set of facilities and institutes where disciplines converge to solve global challenges related to health and life sciences, sustainability, food, energy and defense, and security. He was responsible for Purdue’s international programs and its global and corporate partnerships, focused on strengthening relationships to advance innovation, research, education and commercialization. He previously served as Purdue’s Chief Global Affairs Officer (2013-2014) and Associate Vice President for Engagement (2011-2013). Dr. Garimella held the Goodson Distinguished Professorship in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue, and holds an appointment as Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at UVM.

Dr. Garimella conceived of and implemented an ambitious $250 million Life Sciences Initiative focused on Pillars of Excellence in integrative neuroscience and immunological sciences, complementing Purdue University’s existing strengths in drug discovery and plant sciences. In addition, he and Purdue’s Provost partnered to develop the Integrative Data Science Initiative, which is focused on applying data science research to pressing fundamental and socially relevant issues while establishing an educational ecosystem of data fluency to prepare students for the rapidly expanding future of a data-driven knowledge economy.

In 2018, Dr. Garimella was appointed by President Trump to the National Science Board, which oversees the National Science Foundation and also serves as an independent body of advisers to both the president and Congress on policy matters related to science, engineering and educating the next generation of scientists.

The co-author of over 525 widely cited archival publications and 13 patents, Dr. Garimella is an expert in micro- and nano-scale transport phenomena, thermal management and energy efficiency in electronics systems, and renewable and sustainable energy systems technology and policy. He founded the Cooling Technologies Research Center, a graduated National Science Foundation I/UCRC, in 1999 and directed it for two decades. He has supervised over 90 graduate students, 27 of whom are now faculty members in prestigious universities.

Dr. Garimella served as a Jefferson Science Fellow at the U.S. Department of State from 2010 to 2011, analyzing cross-cutting issues at the intersection of energy security and climate change. He was a State Department delegate to the International Energy Agency (IEA). From 2011 to 2016, Garimella was a senior fellow of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), a regional partnership announced by President Obama in 2009 to promote clean energy, advance energy security, fight energy poverty, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support strategies for sustainable landscapes and build capacity for climate change adaptation.

Dr. Garimella serves in editorial roles with leading energy-related journals. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and has received numerous awards in recognition of his educational, research and service contributions.

Dr. Garimella received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.S. from The Ohio State University, and a bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras.