David Schwebel named UI’s next vice president for research

Thursday, November 14, 2024

David C. Schwebel, associate vice president for research facilities and infrastructure and university professor of psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has been named the University of Iowa's next vice president for research. He will begin July 1.

Schwebel has served in various leadership positions at the University of Alabama at Birmingham since 2006. He earned a Master of Arts and a PhD in clinical psychology from Iowa in 1996 and 2000, respectively. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Yale University in 1994.

David Schwebel

In addition to his role as vice president for research, Schwebel will be a tenured full professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

"David is an outstanding candidate for this position, and I'm delighted to welcome him back to the University of Iowa," says UI president Barbara Wilson. "He is a distinguished scholar and an experienced administrator, and I look forward to working with him on ambitious research opportunities across the university."

Schwebel has published more than 400 peer-reviewed manuscripts, most focusing on understanding and preventing unintentional injury in children, adolescents, and young adults. Specific risk factors of interest include temperament and personality, overestimation of physical ability and cognitive development, and adult supervision of children.

He is the director of UAB's Youth Safety Lab, a federally funded lab that conducts studies designed to understand and prevent injuries in children, adolescents, and young adults in the U.S. and around the world.

Schwebel has developed and implemented injury prevention techniques for a range of situations, including pedestrian safety training in virtual reality environments, remote car seat installation using interactive virtual presence, drowning prevention through lifeguard training at public swimming pools, dog bite prevention in rural China and in the United States, and kerosene safety in low-income South Africa neighborhoods.

He has received more than $12 million in external funding to support his research program.

"I am grateful for this special opportunity to return to Iowa City and serve the campus as vice president for research," Schwebel says. "I look forward to supporting and accelerating the productivity and impact of the impressive research, scholarship, and creative activity that Iowa faculty, students, and staff conduct to improve the lives of people across Iowa and around the world. It will be an honor to play a role in that effort."

Schwebel is a Woodrow Wilson Scholar, a Fulbright Award winner, and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Transportation, and several other federal, nonprofit, and industry groups.

Schwebel's appointment must be approved by the Iowa Board of Regents.