Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate and Graduate Education

Biography

David L. Darmofal SM ’91 PhD ’93 is the vice chancellor for undergraduate and graduate education and the Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

As a faculty member and administrator, Darmofal has been deeply involved in engineering education innovation efforts at MIT, including creating blended learning pedagogies; developing open digital-learning content; designing more flexible degree programs; revamping graduate programs; and creating first-year advising seminars. He has served in many leadership roles in AeroAstro and co-chaired two Institute-wide committees focused on improving personal and professional development and career exploration for students. Darmofal also contributed his expertise in engineering pedagogy to the development of the Schwarzman College of Computing’s Common Ground efforts, to address the need for computing education across many disciplines.

Darmofal has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching and advising. A champion of research-based best practices in teaching and digital learning, he received the School of Engineering Bose Award for Junior Faculty and the Common Ground Award for Excellence in Teaching; has been named an MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellow; and has been recognized twice by the MIT student chapter of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for excellence in undergraduate teaching. Darmofal has also garnered recognition for his mentorship from the AIAA student chapter and as a recipient of the Earll M. Murman Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising.

His principal research interests include computational methods for partial differential equations, especially fluid dynamics. Darmofal has been an author on approximately 130 technical publications in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. He has also helped lead national initiatives to improve engineering education through both the AIAA and the National Academy of Engineering.

Darmofal received a BS in aerospace engineering in 1989 from the University of Michigan and a PhD in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT in 1993. After completing postdoctoral work at the University of Michigan, he taught at Texas A&M University before joining MIT’s AeroAstro faculty in 1998.