The head of research is leaving after three years of service to Ohio State.

C. Bradley Moore, vice president of research at OSU, has accepted a position overseeing research at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

After nearly 40 years as a faculty researcher and research administrator at the University of California, Berkeley, he was hired by former OSU President William “Brit” Kirwan in July 2000.

Under Moore, research dollars at OSU reached a record high of $426 million, an 80 percent increase from 1997-1998.

“What has been done in the past three years is to set the stage for Ohio State to move to the next level, to help the state of Ohio meet its challenges for the future,” Moore said.

Moore will now channel his efforts at Northwestern, working to enhance their research program.

“I am very excited about joining Northwestern,” Moore said in a news release.

“Its outstanding faculty and academic leadership, its tradition of multidisciplinary research and its new facilities position Northwestern to be among the nation’s leaders in research in coming decades,” Moore said.

In nine years, Northwestern’s research dollars have only doubled to $324 million; a $100 million gap from Ohio State, which has raised $426 million in six years.

Lawrence B. Dumas, provost of Northwestern University, said he hopes Northwestern will see similar results under Moore’s guidance.

“We are confident that under his direction, Northwestern’s research enterprise will build further on its already considerable strength,” Dumas said.

The latest research initiatives at Northwestern include one of the first Centers for Nanofabrication in the country which studies molecular self-assembly and a 12-story, $195- million medical research center to be devoted to cancer research.

When Moore officially leaves OSU on May 1, he will leave several projects in the works. Among them are the $152-million biomedical research tower to be finished in 2006 and the international homeland security initiative.

Thomas Rosol, senior associate vice president for research at OSU, said Moore’s departure came as a surprise to him.

“I know he and his wife loved OSU and enjoyed living in Columbus very much.” Rosol said.

He said Moore was able to accomplish great things at OSU in a short period of time.

“Dr. Moore brought unparalleled vision to the Office of Research and has helped our university climb the ladder to a top tier research institution with significant gains in our rankings,” Rosol said.

While at OSU, Moore also served as president of the OSU Research Foundation and as a professor of chemistry and distinguished professor of mathematics and physical sciences. Moore is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

OSU President Karen A. Holbrook said Moore brought great prestige, dignity and commitment to help Ohio State’s researchers reach their potential.

Holbrook said efforts to appoint an interim vice president will be underway shortly.