Patrick O’Shea is vice president and chief research officer at the University of Maryland, overseeing research across the College Park and Baltimore campuses, which together spend $1.4 billion on research annually and collectively rank 11th in the nation among public institutions, according to the latest National Science Foundation (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey. 

O’Shea previously served as vice president for research (VPR) at the University of Maryland, College Park from 2011-16. Under his leadership, the university achieved a record level of funding from competitive grants and contracts, made significant strides in areas related to innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization, upgraded and modernized many of its research systems, and launched the strategic research partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore. 

Following his first term as VPR, O'Shea served as president of University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland. He has also held positions at Duke University and the University of California, Los Alamos National Laboratory. He received his bachelor's degree in physics from UCC, and his master's and doctoral degrees in physics from the University of Maryland, College Park. 

O’Shea is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, with affiliate appointments in the Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics and the Department of Physics. He is also a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Irish Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society for the Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. 

An expert in electromagnetics, O’Shea is best known for his work on particle accelerators and free-electron lasers. He led several large-scale experimental programs and supervised the research of numerous doctoral and master’s graduates and undergraduates. His current research projects include X-ray free-electron lasers, superpower terahertz sources, electric ivy dielectric discharge, intense electron beam dynamics, and electron photoemission. For many years, he was cited as one of the leading researchers for externally sponsored research funding at the University of Maryland. 

Recently, in addition to maintaining his active teaching and research programs, O’Shea worked to advance College Park’s academic offerings in quantum science and engineering, and also played a crucial role in fostering a unified culture supporting research integrity, compliance and operations at the university. 

His hobbies and interests include running, cycling, orienteering, geography, and history.