Dr. Julie Chen is the Vice Chancellor for Research & Economic Development and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (www.uml.edu). As the Chief Research Officer, Dr. Chen directs UMass Lowell’s >$90 million research enterprise, which also includes industry partnerships, technology transfer, startups & innovation, core research facilities, and economic development programs. She has facilitated many innovative collaboration models that bring together industry, government, and academia. She serves on the board for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and MassTech Collaborative, as well as on the Massachusetts Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative and the Massachusetts Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force. Dr. Chen spent two years in DC, serving as the Program Director for the Materials Processing and Manufacturing and the Nanomanufacturing Programs at the National Science Foundation. She was the 2010 Technical Program Chair for the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. Dr. Chen was also one of the co-PIs on an NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation grant to help advance women faculty in STEM at UMass Lowell. Dr. Chen received her PhD, MS, and BS from MIT in Mechanical Engineering. She recently was awarded an honorary degree from Queens University Belfast and the Army Public Service Commendation Medal.