Alyson Wilson

Bio

Dr. Alyson Wilson is the interim vice chancellor for research. As chief research officer, she oversees all research activities at NC State. Under her leadership, the Office of Research and Innovation coordinates research administration and compliance; manages the university’s intellectual properties; builds new research partnerships; stewards centers, institutes, and core facilities; and advances the university’s research brand and reputation. Researchers at NC State are supported by more than $460 million in sponsored programs from federal and local government, as well as both industry and nonprofit organizations. NC State’s research portfolio exceeds 5,000 invention disclosures, 1,000 U.S. patents, 800 active commercialization agreements, and 600 products to market.

Prior to serving as interim vice chancellor, Wilson was senior associate vice chancellor for research (2024-), associate vice chancellor for national security and special research initiatives (2020-2024), and principal investigator for the Laboratory for Analytic Sciences (2014-2024).

She is a professor in the Department of Statistics and a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her areas of expertise include statistical reliability, Bayesian methods, and the application of statistics to problems in defense and national security. She has over 140 peer-reviewed publications, panel reports, and technical reports, including three books. Before joining NC State, Wilson was jointly appointed at the IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute and Systems and Analyses Center (2011-2013); a faculty member in the Department of Statistics at Iowa State University (2008-2011); a senior scientist in the Statistical Sciences Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory (1999-2008); and a senior statistician with Cowboy Programming Resources, a small business supporting the U.S. Army (1995-1999).

Wilson earned a Ph.D. in statistics from Duke University, a M.S. in statistics from Carnegie-Mellon University, and a B.A. in mathematical sciences from Rice University.