Dr. Hanchen Huang was appointed Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of UMass Dartmouth on July 18, 2022. As a first-generation college graduate, he is deeply committed to helping students succeed and to promoting upward social mobility.

Dr. Huang has served as an academic leader at multiple universities. Specifically, he has been the Program Director of Mechanical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Department Chair of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Northeastern University, and College Dean of Engineering at the University of North Texas prior to arriving at UMass Dartmouth. During his tenure as the Dean, the US News rankings of both undergraduate and graduate engineering programs of the College moved up by double digits. During his tenure as the Chair, the US News ranking of the graduate mechanical engineering program of the Department also moved up by double digits.

As a scholar, Dr. Huang has been the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund Endowed Professor at the University of Connecticut, Donald W. Smith Professor at Northeastern University, and Lupe Murchison Chair Professor at the University of North Texas. In addition, he has been a Royal Society of London KTP Visiting Professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Hsue Shen Tsien Engineering Science Visiting Professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is an elected Fellow of four professional societies: the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Society for Materials International (ASM), American Society of Mechanical Engineers International (ASME), and Society of Engineering Sciences (SES); and an elected Member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE).

Dr. Huang actively participates in local communities and professional societies. He has been a member of the Advisory Board of NiHao Food Bank Initiative, in partnership with the North Texas Food Bank. He is currently serving as the President-elect of the Council of Chinese American Deans and Presidents, and the Chair of Emerging Technologies Awareness Committee of the American Society for Materials International.

Hanchen was born and raised in China, and came to the United States as a graduate student in 1990. He and his wife Yanping are the proud parents of two sons, Dan and Joe.

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• September 14, 2022 New Provost Dr. Hanchen Huang sees “tremendous potential” for UMass Dartmouth’s growth