Maria Yang Appointed MIT Vice Provost for Faculty | MIT News
- Leonhard (1940) Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, has been appointed the Institute’s vice provost for faculty, effective February 16, 2026.
- The appointment was announced by Provost Anantha Chandrakasan in an email to MIT faculty, and staff.
- “In the nearly two decades since Maria joined the MIT faculty, she has exemplified dedicated service to the Institute and deep interdisciplinary collaboration,” Chandrakasan wrote.
MIT Names Maria Yang Vice Provost for Faculty
Maria Yang, the William E. Leonhard (1940) Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, has been appointed the Institute’s vice provost for faculty, effective .
The appointment was announced by Provost Anantha Chandrakasan in an email to MIT faculty, and staff. Chandrakasan highlighted Yang’s nearly two decades of dedicated service to MIT and her strong record of interdisciplinary collaboration.
“In the nearly two decades since Maria joined the MIT faculty, she has exemplified dedicated service to the Institute and deep interdisciplinary collaboration,” Chandrakasan wrote. He further noted that Yang has consistently demonstrated leadership skills, empathy, and values-driven decision-making throughout her various roles within the School of Engineering.
As vice provost for faculty, Yang will be responsible for overseeing programs and strategies related to faculty recruitment, retention, and ongoing support throughout their careers. She will work closely with school and department leaders on mentorship, strategic planning, and professional development initiatives.
According to Chandrakasan, Yang’s role will be pivotal in fostering an environment where MIT faculty can “pursuing bold ideas with excellence and creativity.”
Yang herself emphasized the importance of cultivating a supportive culture for faculty. “Part of what makes MIT unique is the way it provides faculty the room and the encouragement to do work that they think is important, impactful, and sometimes unexpected,” she said. “I think it’s vital to foster a culture and a sense of community that really enables our faculty to perform at their best — as researchers, of course, but also as educators and mentors, and as citizens of MIT.”
Beyond faculty support, Yang will also oversee planning and oversight of campus academic and research spaces, in partnership with the Office of the Executive Vice President and Treasurer. She will also serve as the principal investigator for the National Science Foundation’s New England Innovation Corps Hub and oversee MIT Solve.
Yang’s connection to MIT spans decades. She was an undergraduate student in mechanical engineering, graduating as part of the Class of 1991, before continuing her education at Stanford University, where she earned her master’s and PhD degrees from the design division of the mechanical engineering department. She returned to MIT in 2007 as an assistant professor.
Throughout her time at MIT, Yang has held several leadership positions, including associate dean, deputy dean, and interim dean of the School of Engineering. She co-chaired the Institute-wide committee on the future of design in 2021, which led to the creation of the Morningside Academy for Design (MAD), where she currently serves as associate director. She has been instrumental in developing new programs at MAD, including design-focused graduate fellowships and a design-themed first-year learning community.
Since 2017, Yang has also served as the academic faculty director for MIT D-Lab, which focuses on collaborative, participatory design to address poverty challenges globally. More recently, since 2024, she has co-chaired the SHASS+ Connectivity Fund, supporting collaborative research projects between the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and other MIT schools.
Chandrakasan expressed confidence in Yang’s ability to succeed in her new role, stating, “Given Yang’s extensive track record of working across disciplinary lines, I had no doubt that in her new role she will be an effective and trusted champion for colleagues across the Institute.”
Yang is an internationally recognized leader in design theory and methodology, currently researching the early-stage processes involved in successful design creation, from consumer products to complex engineering systems. She is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and received the 2024 ASME Design Theory and Methodology Award. She has also received a National Science Foundation CAREER award and the American Society of Engineering Education Fred Merryfield Design Award, and was named a MacVicar Faculty Fellow in 2017, a prestigious teaching honor at MIT.
Yang succeeds Institute Professor Paula Hammond, who previously held the position of vice provost for faculty from 2023 before being appointed dean of the School of Engineering in January 2025.