Charles M. Vest
Photo: Kevin Tong, UC Davis College of Engineering, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons16

Charles M. Vest

American engineer, educator, and university president (1941–2013)

Charles Marstiller "Chuck" Vest (September 9, 1941 – December 12, 2013) was an American mechanical engineer and academic administrator. He served as president of the National Academy of Engineering from 2007 to 2013, as the 15th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1990 to 2004, as the 7th provost of the University of Michigan from 1989 to 1990, and as the 11th dean of the University of Michigan College of Engineering from 1986 to 1989.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Charles M. Vest (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Sep 9, 1941, died Dec 12, 2013.1

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedUniversity of Michigan3
  • Date not recordedWest Virginia University3
  • Date not recordedMorgantown High School3

Vest was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, in 1941. He went to Morgantown High School.

Vest received a Bachelor of Science with a major in mechanical engineering from West Virginia University in 1963. He received a Master of Science in Engineering in 1964 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1967, both in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, where he later served as professor of mechanical engineering.

In 1979, Vest published Holographic Interferometry, a book about the theory and application of this technology to measurement problems.

Vest served as dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan from 1986 to 1989 and provost of the university from 1989 to 1990. He then served as president of MIT from 1990 to 2004.

In 2004, a selection of Vest's speeches from his time as President of MIT was published under the title, Pursuing the Endless Frontier: Essays on MIT and the Role of Research Universities.

Harvard University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws in 2005. The University of Cambridge awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in Law in 2006. Tufts University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science in 2011; he delivered a commencement speech at Tufts University the same year.

From Wikipedia’s article on Charles M. Vest (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: engineer.7

Personal life

  • BornSep 9, 1941, Morgantown8
  • DiedDec 12, 2013, Arlington County9
  • CitizenshipUnited States10

Awards

  • 2011Vannevar Bush Award11
  • 2009Henry Laurence Gantt Medal11
  • 2006National Medal of Technology and Innovation11 13
  • 2006Philip Hauge Abelson Prize11 14
  • 2005honorary doctor of Harvard University11 12