Biography

James H. Garrett, Jr.

James H. Garrett, Jr. was named provost and chief academic officer of Carnegie Mellon University in January 2019.

As the university's chief academic officer, Garrett is responsible for leading CMU's schools, colleges, institutes and campuses and is instrumental in institutional and academic planning and implementation. 

A member of the faculty since 1990, James H. Garrett, Jr. became Dean of Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering in 2013. Immediately prior to that, he spent six years as head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Garrett is Carnegie Mellon plaid through and through, having received his B.S. ('82), M.S. ('83), and Ph.D. ('86) degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the institution. He joined the faculty of the College as an assistant professor in 1990 and was promoted to full professor in 1996. Garrett has served in other administrative roles including Associate Dean for Graduate and Faculty Affairs (2000-2006) and Acting Dean (2004), as well as faculty co-director of the Smart Infrastructure Institute, a research center aimed at developing sensing technology for construction and infrastructure systems.

Throughout his research career, Garrett focused on how sensors and data analytics can make our cities more adaptive and efficient. This approach aims to give built infrastructures the ability to detect and report on problems directly to the humans charged with maintaining those structures, allowing for more proactive and cost-effective infrastructure management.

Among his many recognitions and awards, Garrett was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2016, awarded the title of Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2018, and elected to the National Academy of Construction in 2020.