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Biography
In September 1998, C. D. (Dan) Mote, Jr. began his tenure as President of the University of Maryland and Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor of Engineering. He was recruited to lead the University of Maryland to national eminence under a mandate by the state. Since assuming the presidency, he has encouraged an environment of excellence across the University and given new impetus to the momentum generated by a talented faculty and student body. Under his leadership, academic programs have flourished. In 2005, the University was ranked 18th among public research universities, up from 30th in 1998. President Mote has emphasized broad access to the university's model, enriched undergraduate curriculum programs and launched the Baltimore Incentive Awards Program to recruit and provide full support to high school students of outstanding potential who have overcome extraordinary adversity during their lives.
He has spurred the university to lead the state in the development of its high-tech economy, especially in the information and communication, bioscience and biotechnology, and nano-technology sectors. President Mote has greatly expanded the university's partnerships with corporate and federal laboratories and successfully negotiated to bring to the College Park area the first Science Research Park sponsored by the People's Republic of China. Under his leadership, the University has established a research park, The University of Maryland Enterprise Campus, M-Square, located on a 115-acre site adjacent to the University of Maryland/College Park Metro with 3 million square feet of development potential. Among its first tenants are the Center for Advanced Study of Language, a joint venture of the University and Department of Defense, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's new World Weather and Climate Prediction Center.
During President Mote's second year in office, the University began the largest building boom in its history, with more than $100 million in new projects breaking ground that year. New facilities address every aspect of university life, from the arts to recreation to classrooms and laboratories, and, in creative partnership with the private sector, new residential facilities. Highlights of the construction activity include the stunning Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center; the Comcast Center, a state of the art sports complex; a high tech research greenhouse; and new classrooms for chemistry, computer science, business and engineering. President Mote also led the development of a new Facilities Master Plan for development in the next 20 years, which is noted for its emphasis on environmental stewardship.
Dr. Mote is a leader in the national dialogue on higher education and his analyses of shifting funding models have been featured in local and national media. He has testified on major educational issues before Congress, representing the University and higher education associations on the problem of visa barriers for international students and scholars and on deemed export control issues. He has been asked to serve on a high level National Academies Committee appointed at the request of the Senate Energy Subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to identify challenges to United States leadership in key areas of science and technology and to be a member of the Leadership Council of the National Innovation Initiative, an activity of the Council on Competitiveness. He has served as vice chair of the Department of Defense Basic Research Committee, and is a member of the Council of the National Academy of Engineering. In 2004-2005, he served as President of the Atlantic Coast Conference. In its last ranking in 2002, "Washington Business Forward" magazine counted him among the top 20 most influential leaders in the region.
Prior to assuming the Presidency at Maryland, Dr. Mote served on the University of California, Berkeley faculty for 31 years. From 1991 to 1998, he was Vice Chancellor at Berkeley, held an endowed chair in Mechanical Systems and was President of the UC Berkeley Foundation. He led a comprehensive capital campaign for Berkeley that raised $1.4 B. He earlier served as chair of Berkeley's Department of Mechanical Engineering and led the department to its number one ranking in the National Research Council review of graduate program effectiveness.
Dr. Mote's research lies in dynamic systems and biomechanics. Internationally recognized for his research on the dynamics of gyroscopic systems and the biomechanics of snow skiing, he has produced more than 300 publications, holds patents in the U.S., Norway, Finland and Sweden, and has mentored 56 Ph.D. students. He received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. President Mote has received numerous awards and honors, including the Humboldt Prize awarded by the Federal Republic of Germany. He is a recipient of the Berkeley Citation, an award from the University of California-Berkeley similar to the honorary doctorate, and was named Distinguished Engineering Alumnus. He has received two honorary doctorates. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and serves on its Council, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was elected to Honorary Membership in the ASME International, its most distinguished recognition, and is a Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science, the Acoustical Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In Spring 2005, he was named recipient of the 2005 J. P. Den Hartog award by the ASME International Technical Committee on Vibration and Sound to honor his lifelong contribution to the teaching and/or practice of vibration engineering. In Fall 2005, he received the 2005 Founders Award from the National Academy of Engineering in recognition of his comprehensive body of work on the dynamics of moving flexible structures and for leadership in academia.
He and his wife of over 40 years, Patricia Mote, have two married children, Melissa and Adam, and four grandchildren. Patsy Mote has continued her strong support of the arts and is spokesperson for the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and a member of Prince George's County Arts Commission.
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