Rodney Andrews, Ph.D.
Senior Associate VP for Research Administration and Central Services
Director, Center for Applied Energy Research
Professor, Chemical and Materials Engineering
Dr. Andrews is a professor of Chemical Engineering in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering, with a joint appointment in Mechanical Engineering. He has served as the director of the Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) since 2007, and he co-directs the Energy Research Priority Area.
His research focuses on production of pitches and heavy aromatics from coal and other fossil resources, industrial carbons, carbon fiber and composites, pitch chemistry and characterization, synthesis and application of carbon nanomaterials. His work is currently funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and industry. He is also program director of Kentucky NSF EPSCoR, a statewide initiative to increase research capacity within the Commonwealth, and serves as principal investigator on the five-year Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII Track-1) award “Climate Resilience through Multidisciplinary Big Data Learning, Prediction & Building Response Systems (CLIMBS).”
Dr. Andrews has served on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board and the National Coal Council. He is chair of the Executive Committee of the American Carbon Society. He is on the Editorial Advisory Board for the journal Carbon.
As Senior Associate Vice President for Research Administration and Central Services (SrAVP-RACS), Dr. Andrews provides leadership and oversight for the comprehensive research administration functions within the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), including the Proposal Development Office (PDO), Collaborative Grant Services (CGS) and Office of Sponsored Projects Administration (OSPA). He directs units that support these activities, including Research Communications, Research Information Services and Office of Undergraduate Research. Dr. Andrews leads continuous improvement processes and assists the VPR with strategic planning, policy development and implementation of OVPR initiatives.