Enrique J. Lavernia

Enrique Jose Lavernia (born 1960) is a Cuban-American material scientist and engineer. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Irvine's Henry Samueli School of Engineering. From 2015 to 2021, he served as UC Irvine's provost and executive vice chancellor. Lavernia previously taught at the University of California, Davis, where he served as Dean of the College of Engineering and as the university's interim provost and executive vice chancellor.

Education Lavernia's family left Cuba in 1965. After attending high school in Puerto Rico, Lavernia matriculated at Brown University. He earned a Bachelor of Science with honors in solid mechanics at Brown in 1982. Lavernia completed a Master of Science and doctoral degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984 and 1986, respectively. From January 2009 to January 2011, he served as the university's interim provost and executive vice chancellor. The results of the investigation have not been made public. He was ultimately succeeded in the role by Hal Stern.

Honors and awards

Foreign Member, Chinese Academy of Engineering, 2020 2020 Acta Materialia Gold Medal Fellow, National Academy of Inventors, 2016 Fellow, National Academy of Engineering, 2013