Mary Cunningham Boyce

Mary Cunningham Boyce is the Dean of the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science and the incoming Provost (beginning July 1, 2021) at Columbia University. She is the Morris A. and Alma Schapiro Professor. She is the fifteenth dean of the school and the first woman to hold the position. Her term began on July 1, 2013.
As dean, Boyce leads the education and research mission of Columbia Engineering, which has more than 170 faculty, 1400 undergraduate students and 2000 graduate students.
A strong advocate of interdisciplinary research and translation of innovation to impact, she has increased faculty in cross-cutting fields, and recently launched a new vision for the school, Columbia Engineering for Humanity. This vision reflects the over 150 year history of Columbia Engineering while also articulating the impact of engineering on the lives of people around the world - our impact on a sustainable, a healthy, a secure, a connected, and a creative humanity.
Her own research focuses on materials and mechanics, particularly in the areas of multi-scale mechanics of polymers and soft composites, both those that are man-made and those formed naturally.
Background.
Boyce earned her B.S. degree in Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. Prior to joining Columbia University, Boyce spent twenty-five years as a faculty member at MIT. During her last years at MIT, she was the Head of Department for Mechanical Engineering and the Ford Professor of Engineering.
Boyce's research interests include the multi-scale mechanics of polymers, soft composites and soft tissues. Her research has been in theory, computation and experimental elements of the nonlinear, finite deformation, elastic and inelastic, time-dependent behavior of polymeric-based materials. Her leadership in the field of the mechanics of materials has expanded the understanding of interplay between micro-geometry and the inherent physical behavior of a material, which has led to innovative hybrid material designs, as well as materials structures that transform or morph into a different structure. Models and results from Professor Boyce's group have the potential to influence a range of industrial and academic fields from polymer processing to composite material design, tire mechanics, biological cells and tissues. The author of more than 170 publications with her group, she is also the holder of five US patents. Boyce has mentored over 25 PhD students including Ellen Arruda and numerous postdoctoral researchers. Her PhD students and postdoctoral researchers have gone onto faculty positions across the country and the world, as well as to national laboratories, industries and consulting careers.
Boyce has been widely recognized for her scholarly achievements, including election as a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Academy of Mechanics, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was also elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2012 for contributions to understanding the mechanics of deformation in engineered and natural polymeric solids.
She has been honored for her teaching at MIT, where she was named a MacVicar Faculty Fellow and received the Joseph Henry Keenan Innovation in Undergraduate Education Award.