June 30, 2025

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to share with you that Patrick O’Shea, PhD, MS, will be the next vice president for research (VPR), overseeing the joint research enterprise of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP).

Dr. O’Shea’s extensive experience and distinguished scientific background make him well-suited to lead us into a new era of research. Under his guidance, we’re confident we will continue our strong upward momentum.

Dr. O’Shea, who currently serves as deputy VPR at College Park, will oversee the UMB-UMCP research enterprise, which spends $1.4 billion on research annually and collectively ranks 11th nationally among public institutions, according to the most recent National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development survey. In his new role, Dr. O’Shea will collaborate with the presidents and senior leadership of UMB and UMCP to shape a forward-looking vision and strategy, guided by national trends in funding and the universities’ key strengths in areas such as quantum research, artificial intelligence, data science, health and biomedical advancements, and national security.

Dr. O’Shea served as UMCP’s vice president for research from 2011-16. Under his leadership, the university achieved a record level of funding from competitive grants and contracts; made significant strides in areas related to innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization; upgraded and modernized many of its research systems; and launched the strategic research partnership with UMB.

After his first term as VPR, Dr. O’Shea served as president of University College Cork, Ireland (UCC). He has also held positions at Duke University and the University of California’s Los Alamos National Laboratory. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics from UCC and his master’s and doctorate degrees in physics from UMCP.

Dr. O’Shea is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UMCP, with affiliate appointments in the Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics and the Department of Physics. He is a UMCP Distinguished Scholar-Teacher and a fellow of several professional societies.

Recently, in addition to maintaining his active research and teaching programs, Dr. O’Shea worked to advance UMCP’s academic offerings in quantum science and engineering and played a crucial role in fostering a unified culture supporting research integrity, compliance, and operations at the university.

Dr. O’Shea will begin his new position July 1, 2025. He succeeds Gregory Ball, PhD, who stepped down after serving more than three years as VPR. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Ball for his dedicated service. His leadership has been instrumental in advancing our research mission during a critical period of growth and transformation.

We also want to thank the search committee — led by chair Samuel Graham Jr., PhD, MS, dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering at UMCP, and vice chair Christopher O’Donnell, PhD, executive vice dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine — for its diligent work in identifying this exceptional leader.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. O’Shea as he steps into this role and guides our joint research enterprise into the future.

Sincerely,

Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS
President, University of Maryland, Baltimore

Darryll J. Pines, PhD, MS
President, University of Maryland, College Park