Published On: 01/11/2025Categories: Agbiosciences, Industry News

Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research, to retire; search launched

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Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research at Purdue University, has announced that she will retire June 30.

A national search will be launched immediately to identify Plaut’s successor. Lucy Flesch, the Frederick L. Hovde Dean of the College of Science and professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences, will chair a search advisory committee. The full committee will be announced next week.

“As Dr. Plaut plans her retirement from the university, we offer our deepest appreciation for her tremendous contributions. She has made multifaceted and outstanding contributions to Purdue since 2010, including these two and half years as EVP for research,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said. “In particular, she pioneered Purdue’s efforts in the Institute for Physical AI, the Purdue Applied Research Institute and One Health; created new partnerships with national labs, the Department of Defense, the Indianapolis ecosystem and private sector; launched dozens of impactful efforts to support research by faculty, staff and PhD students; and activated both new software and AI tools and hardware infrastructure for almost every department and every research institute and center on campus. Record funding throughout the sponsored research pipeline is but one reflection of her leadership as she helped enhance the very culture of research excellence at scale at Purdue, which the whole Purdue team will continue to rapidly advance in the many years to come.”

Since assuming her current position in January 2023, Plaut has fostered an environment for research and collaboration by helping to build interdisciplinary relationships between researchers for broader impact. The results have been most visible in her success in several key research areas:

  • Developing the Institute for Physical AI, bringing together researchers from across the university’s signature strengths in materials science, engineering, microelectronics, computer science, agriculture and life sciences to help solve the world’s toughest challenges

Plaut’s successes are also evident in the continued growth of Purdue’s research portfolio, which surpassed $3 billion in fiscal year 2024. She has developed or relaunched programs aimed at providing internal funding to seed research, increased support for large multidisciplinary grants, streamlined processes and incentivized faculty success.

Plaut came to Purdue in 2010 as associate dean for research for the College of Agriculture, was named senior associate dean of research and faculty affairs in 2013 and became the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture in 2018. With the college’s focus on digital agriculture and data science, its ranking rose to No. 4 in the U.S. and No. 8 in the world. Under Plaut’s direction, the Purdue Moves and Next Moves investments in the Institute for Plant Sciences positioned Purdue as a global leader in developing and delivering innovation, technology and human capacity in plant phenomics, digital forestry and consumer behavior.

A researcher at heart, Plaut has approximately 100 publications focused on mammary gland biology and has received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and NASA.

Plaut received her bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Vermont. She went on to receive a master’s degree in animal nutrition from Pennsylvania State University and a PhD in animal science from Cornell University. She completed her postdoctoral studies at the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health and was a faculty member at the University of Vermont and Michigan State University, serving as chair of the Department of Animal Sciences at both institutions. Plaut also worked with NASA as lead scientist for the International Space Station Biological Research Project.