Grace Wang

Grace Wang, PhD, serves as the 17th president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) since April 2023 and holds a concurrent professorship in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. Prior to WPI, she was Executive Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Knowledge at The Ohio State University (OSU), where she expanded R&D expenditures to $1.38 billion annually. At SUNY, she held leadership roles including Senior Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, interim provost, and interim president of SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Her career includes NSF leadership (overseeing $900M in engineering grants) and industrial research at IBM/Hitachi.

• Education: PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University

Research focuses on advanced materials, manufacturing, and fostering innovation through strategic partnerships with industry giants like IBM and Applied Materials. She holds seven U.S. patents from her early career in thin-film magnetic media R&D.

Leadership roles include:

• Member of National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee (White House appointee)
• Council member of Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable
• Board member of Massachusetts High Technology Council

Recent initiatives include launching WPI's provost search process and serving on MA's AI Strategic Task Force. Her work emphasizes experiential learning, diversity initiatives, and large-scale interdisciplinary research centers.