Russell Composto

Russell Composto, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, began his tenure as Penn’s inaugural Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education on July 1, 2025.

A global innovator in polymer science, he has taught at Penn since 1990, serving from 2015-2023 as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, where he led the development of a new engineering curriculum and a new program of individualized student advising, and from 2023-2025 as Bozza Family Faculty Co-Director of Penn First Plus, the program that provides support, resources, and community-building for undergraduate students who identify as lower- to middle-income and/or are the first in their families to attend college. He chaired the working group on research for Penn’s 2024 reaccreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and he has led a wide range of initiatives to advance innovation in STEM education at Penn, including multi-year support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to develop new forms of classroom instruction and engagement, particularly in introductory STEM courses, and from the National Science Foundation to design new models for training STEM graduate students, especially in new, high-priority interdisciplinary research areas.

A fellow and former chair of the division of polymer physics of the American Physical Society, he has received Special Creativity and Presidential Young Investigator Awards from the National Science Foundation, the Geoffrey Marshall Mentoring Award of the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools, the Ford Motor Company Award for Faculty Advising, and the Penn Provost’s Award for Distinguished PhD Teaching and Mentoring. among many other awards, He received a PhD and MS from Cornell University and a BA from Gettysburg College.