Robert Briber

Dr. Robert Briber is an internationally recognized researcher in materials science with a specialization in the physics of polymers and structural characterization of soft materials. Under his leadership as associate dean for research, the college’s research expenditures reached a new high. He has contributed to many strategic partnerships with industry and government, including the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and others. Prior to that, he chaired the university’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering for 12 years. During his tenure, department undergraduate enrollment increased by more than 250 percent, research expenditures more than doubled, and for the first time, the department reached the Top 25 in the U.S. News & World Report graduate rankings. Briber is a past President of the Neutron Scattering Society of America, a Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the Neutron Scattering Society of America, a recipient of the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal, a University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher, and former editor of the Journal of Polymer Science. Briber has a B.S. in materials science and engineering from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts.