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Martin A. Schmidt received his B.S. degree from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1981 and his S.M. and Ph.D. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983 and 1988, respectively. He joined the MIT faculty in 1988 in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department. From 1999 to 2006, he served as the director of the Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL) at MIT. MTL is an interdepartmental laboratory that provides shared research infrastructure for all of the campus’ activities in micro and nanotechnology and supports the research of approximately 500 students and staff.

In February 2014, he was appointed provost of MIT. Beginning in 2008, he served as associate provost, managing the Institute’s space and the renovation/renewal budgets. Since January 2012, he also assumed responsibilities for “all things industry” as the senior administrative officer responsible for MIT’s industrial interactions. In this capacity, the Technology Licensing Office and Office of Corporate Relations report to him. Beyond his regular responsibilities, he also co-led the Institute’s Task Force on the Budget in response to the 2008 financial crisis. He has played an active role as MIT’s faculty lead in support of the MIT president’s role as co-chair of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP), a national effort bringing together the federal government, industry, universities, and other stakeholders to identify and invest in emerging technologies with the potential to create high-quality domestic manufacturing jobs and enhance the global competitiveness of the United States. Lastly, he served as one of the 20 faculty members on the MIT Production in the Innovation Economy (PIE) study, a two-year study focused on understanding the critical linkage of production to the innovation process. The PIE work resulted in two books published by the MIT Press.

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Prior to assuming her current role, Kotanchek spent 23 years at Dow Chemical where she held multiple global roles, including most recently Vice President of Sustainable Technologies and Innovation Sourcing. In this role, she was responsible for Dow's global strategy and delivery of competitive sustainable technologies, information research and management, environmental health and safety and Dow's external technology partnerships with leading universities, governments and national academies. Prior to this, she served as Dow's Chief Technology Officer of Dow Chemical China Company Limited where she led Asia Pacific R&D, including the development, construction and staffing of Dow's state-of-the-art 1,000,000 sq foot R&D center in Shanghai, China. In addition, she also served as a Global R&D Director in Dow Ventures, Dow Polyolefins and Elastomers and in Corporate R&D.

Kotanchek holds a PhD in materials science, an MS in ceramic science, and a BS in ceramic science and engineering from The Pennsylvania State University. She is an active member of the American Chemical Society, Society of Women Engineers, and Council of Industrial Research and has served on the Shanghai American Chamber of Congress--Science & Technology Subcommittee. She currently serves on multiple external advisory boards including Penn State's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan's Department of Engineering, and Georgia Tech's Manufacturing Institute. She was awarded the 2006 Penn State Earth & Mineral Sciences Alumni Achievement Award and was honored as a 2009 Penn State Alumni Fellow.

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