David C. Weindorf, Ph.D.
Vice President for Research and Economic Development
Veazey Hall (Armstrong Campus)
912-478-5269
dweindorf@georgiasouthern.edu
Georgia Southern University, Dr. Weindorf oversees Sponsored Programs, Laboratory Safety, Research Integrity, the Business Innovation Group, and Research & Service Foundation. He has led the university to a litany of new research enterprise records in support of its Carnegie R1 aspirations.
Dr. David C. Weindorf currently serves as Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Georgia Southern (GS) University. Under his leadership, GS set new university records for total research expenditures (▲23.1%); federal research expenditures (▲81.5%); peer reviewed research publications (▲11.5%); quartile 1 (Q1) publications (▲25.5%). At GS, Dr. Weindorf launched the Presidential Fellows program, Research Study Abroad, Ambassadors Forum and Faculty Club.
Dr. Weindorf previously led Central Michigan Univ. (CMU) to records in external grantsmanship (▲145%), scholarly output (▲37%), impact of scholarly works (▲78%), and NSF HERD ranking. Dr. Weindorf was the architect of CMU’s selection as a Space Grant institution. Under his leadership, CMU achieved its first ever ranking in the QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The transformational change he brought to CMU included a Research Advisory Council, Research Advisory Board, and the integration of software platforms for optimized enterprise management (e.g., Cayuse SP, SciVal, PURE, iThenticate).
Dr. Weindorf is a Fellow and Presidential Award winner of the Soil Science Society of America, having served as chair of the Pedology section (S-5) in 2016. He is a Fellow in the National Academy of Inventors. A licensed Texas Professional Geoscientist, he also serves on the editorial boards of Pedosphere and Geoderma.
As a scientist and Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Weindorf has worked in >30 countries, published >220 peer reviewed research papers in top international journals germane to soil/water/compost science, environmental quality assessment, and international, translational soil taxonomy. Dr. Weindorf’s research team provided emergency response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and Gold King Mine spill, the latter of which he was called upon to offer testimony to the US Senate.
Holder of five awarded patents, Dr. Weindorf is widely considered an international authority in proximal sensor characterization of soil, having authored multiple methods papers for successful proximal sensor use. He is Executive Producer of the acclaimed documentary film “Between Earth and Sky – Climate Change on the Last Frontier.” Previously, Dr. Weindorf served as Associate Vice President of Research at TTU, Associate Dean of Research and BL Allen Endowed Chair of Pedology in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (TTU), and Associate Professor of Soil Classification/Land Use at Louisiana State University (LSU). Prior to that, he was an Assistant Professor of Soil Science at Tarleton State University.
Education
- Ph.D. in Agronomy – Texas Tech University (2002)
- M.S. in Soil Science – Texas Tech University (1997)
- B.S. in Range Management – Texas Tech University (1995)