The director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications will serve as the interim vice president for research, President Timothy Killeen announced Monday in a press release.Edward Seidel will begin the position on Sept. 1, pending Board of Trustees approval.

He succeeds Lawrence Schook, who announced he will step down after five years as vice president. Killeen said the new position will be restructured to focus on promoting research that drives the state’s economy and will be titled “vice president for economic development and innovation.”

Seidel will keep his title as director of the NCSA while serving during a national search for a permanent vice president. The search is assisted by an advisory committee chaired by Peter Pfanner, a research professor of urology.

After working with Seidel at the NCSA and at the National Science Foundation, Killeen said he gained a great appreciation for Seidel’s broad vision and ability to build effective research teams and partnerships.

“I am honored to be asked by President Killeen to work with the entire University of Illinois system to further enhance its research and economic development portfolio, and to return even more value to the state during the search for a permanent vice president,” Seidel said in the release.

Another search is also underway to replace Vice President for Academic Affairs Christophe Pierre, who announced his resignation in June to accept a position as provost at Stevens Institute of Technology.

The next vice president for academic affairs will serve as a “second-in-command” position under Killeen and have the title “executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs.”

New duties for the position include coordinating planning and budgeting across the UI system.

An internal search was launched in July and is chaired by University of Illinois at Chicago Chancellor Michael Amiridis. William Gropp will serve as acting director of the NCSA for Seidel.

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