Susan Margulies

Susan Margulies is an American biomedical engineer who is the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation at Vanderbilt University. She previously served as the assistant director of the U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Engineering from 2021-2025, and as the chair of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, where she served as chair from 2017 to 2021. She is a world leader in the biomechanics of head injury in children.

Early life and education Margulies grew up in Rochester, Minnesota. She completed her Bachelor's at Princeton University, where she majored in mechanical and aerospace engineering. She earned her Master's and PhD at University of Pennsylvania in 1987.

Research After completing her PhD, Margulies joined the Mayo Clinic as a postdoctoral associate in Thoracic Diseases Research, and was promoted to Assistant Professor in Biophysics and Physiology . In 1993 she was appointed as Assistant Professor to the Bioengineering Department at the University of Pennsylvania. , tenured in 1998, and was promoted to Professor to the Biomedical engineering department at the University of Pennsylvania in Professor in 2004.

In 2017 she was as appointed as the Chair of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering and became the first faculty member tenured in both the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, where she served as department chair in both the College of Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University’s School of Medicine. During her term as Chair, research activity tripled, faculty size increased, space expanded, fundraising increased to record levels, and national rankings rose to #1 in the nation.

During Margulies’ tenure at the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Engineering Directorate provided over 40 percent of federal funding for fundamental research in engineering at academic institutions, leading to innovative nano to macro technologies and sustainable impacts in health, agriculture, clean energy and water, resilient infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, quantum systems, and many other areas. Margulies led the launch of new funding mechanisms to support high risk, high reward projects that expand engineering frontiers. To catalyze strategic priority areas at scale and speed, Margulies launched dozens of partnerships with federal agencies in the US and abroad, and with industry and philanthropic organizations.

In February 2026, Vanderbilt University announced that Margulies would join the university as its new Vice Provost for Research and Innovation, as well as a professor of biomedical engineering in the Vanderbilt School of Engineering, with her appointment beginning June 1, 2026. 1997 NSF CAREER Award 2020 National Academy of Engineering, Member 2020 National Academy of Medicine, Member 2023 Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2023 Elected to the National Academy of Inventors 2024 Elected to the Association for the Advancement of Science 2026 American Society of Mechanical Engineers Foundation establishes Susan S. Margulies Excellence in Leadership in Bioengineering Medal