Research Leadership Academy
The RLA is the faculty-driven epicenter of research leadership and faculty mentoring.
Overview
Established in 2016, the Research Leadership Academy (RLA) serves as the faculty-driven center for research leadership and faculty mentoring at NC State. The RLA is composed of the University’s most outstanding researchers and mentors from diverse fields.
Membership in the Academy is for life as long as the member remains associated with NC State, with a commitment to active service for at least three years. Members are expected to play a leading role in advancing the University’s research mission by organizing seminars, research and leadership education programs and mentoring initiatives for faculty.
Charge and Goals
- The RLA is charged with developing and promoting best research and administrative practices to support the growth and success of NC State’s broad research faculty.
- The goals of the RLA are to:
- Encourage a culture of mentoring across campus,
- Empower faculty for success,
- Advance an intellectual, multidisciplinary research community, and
- Promote the best administrative practices.
Leadership
- Chair: Cranos Williams, Goodnight Distinguished Professor, College of Engineering; Platform Director, Plant Sciences Initiative
- Chair-Elect: Maria Mayorga, Goodnight Distinguished Chair in Operations Research and Director of Operations Research, College of Engineering
- Communications Manager: Sofia Colón, Office of Research and Innovation
Past Chairs
- Heike Sederoff, Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology | 2024-2025
- Heather Patisaul, Associate Dean for Research, Biological Sciences | 2023-2024
- Phillip Westmoreland, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering | 2022-2023
- Sharon Joines, Professor of Industrial Design; Associate Dean, College of Design; Director, Research in Ergonomics & Design Laboratory | 2021-2022
- Erin Sills, Professor and Interim Department Head, Forestry and Environmental Resources | 2020-2021
- Greg Parsons, Alcoa Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering | 2019-2020
- Robert C Smart, PhD, Goodnight Distinguished Chair in Molecular Toxicology; Professor, Department of Biological Sciences and Toxicology Program; Director, Center for Human Health and the Environment | 2018-2019
- Gail Jones, Distinguished Graduate Professor, STEM Education | 2016-2018
Membership Classes
2025
- Felix Castellano, Goodnight Innovation Distinguished Chair and professor in the Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences
- Bill Rand, McLauchlan Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Analytics, Poole College of Management
- Melanie Simpson, Professor, Department Head, Director, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Rosangela (Ross) Sozzani, Professor, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
2024
- Joy Gaston Gayles, Department Head, Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development, College of Education
- Fanxing Li, Alcoa Professor and University Faculty Scholar, College of Engineering
- Ross Meentemeyer, Professor and Director, Center for Geospatial Analytics, College of Natural Resources
- Behnam Pourdeyhimi, William A. Klopman Distinguished Professor of Materials, Associate Dean, Wilson College of Textiles; Executive Director, The Nonwovens Institute.
2023
- Dr. Anthony Blikslager, Professor, Associate Dean, Associate Director of the Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, Head of the Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine
- Ola Harrysson, Edward P. Fitts Distinguished Professor, College of Engineering
- Maria Mayorga, Goodnight Distinguished Chair in Operations Research and Director of Operations Research, College of Engineering
- Jun Ninomiya-Tsuji, Professor, College of Sciences
- Rob Scheller, Associate Dean, College of Natural Resources
- Anna Whitfield, Professor, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
2022
- George Kennedy, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- James Lester, Distinguished University Professor; Director, Center for Educational Informatics, College of Engineering
- W. Jason Miller, Professor, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
- John Muth, Professor, College of Engineering
- Sylvia Nassar, Professor, College of Education
- Afsaneh Rabiei, Professor, College of Engineering
- Jan Genzer, S. Frank & Doris Culberson Distinguished Professor, College of Engineering
- Saad Khan, INVISTA Professor; Director of Graduate Programs, College of Engineering
- Gail McLaughlin, Distinguished University Professor, College of Sciences
- Orlin Velev, S. Frank and Doris Culberson Distinguished Professor, College of Engineering
2021
- Ke Cheng, Randall B. Terry, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Regenerative Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine; Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program cluster hire, Translational Regenerative Medicine
- Heike Sederoff, Professor and University Faculty Scholar, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Chair, Systems and Synthetic Biology Cluster
- Paola Sztajn, Professor, College of Education; Interim Associate Vice-Provost for Academic Personnel and Policy
- Cranos Williams, Professor, College of Engineering; Platform Director, Plant Sciences Initiative
- Yaroslava Yingling, Professor, Director of Undergraduate Programs, College of Engineering; University Faculty Scholar
- Xiangwu Zhang, Samuel S. Walker Distinguished Professor, Associate Dean for Research, Wilson College of Textiles; Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor; Inaugural University Faculty Scholar
2020
- Jeffrey Buckel, Professor, Applied Ecology
- Michael Dickey, Alcoa Professor & University Faculty Scholar, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Julie Ivy, Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering; Fitts Faculty Fellow in Health Systems Engineering
- Audrey Jaeger, Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor, Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development; Executive Director, Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research
- Jennifer Kuzma, Goodnight-NCGSK Foundation Distinguished Professor, School of Public and International Affairs; Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center
- Gavin Smith, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning
2019
- Ralph Dean, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor, Entomology and Plant Pathology
- Jacob Jones, Professor, Materials Science and Engineering; Director, Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF)
- Elaine Orr, Professor, English
- Heather Patisaul, Associate Dean for Research, Biological Sciences
- Richard Spontak, Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
- Phillip Westmoreland, Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
2018
- Jose Alonso, Professor, Plant and Microbial Biology
- Cathrine Hoyo, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences; Director, Epidemiology and Environmental Epigenomics Laboratory
- Jessica DeCuir-Gunby, Professor, Educational Psychology
- Fred Wright, Professor, Statistics; Director, Bioinformatics Research Center
- Matthew Breen, Oscar Fletcher Distinguished Professor, Genomics
- H. Christopher Frey, Glenn E. Futrell Distinguished University Professor, Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
- David Muddiman, Jacob and Betty Belin Distinguished Professor, College of Sciences, Chemistry; Director, Molecular Education, Technology, and Research Innovation Center (METRIC)
- Coby Schal, Blanton Whitmire Distinguished Professor, Entomology and Plant Pathology
2017
- Ken Adler, Professor, Molecular Biomedical Sciences
- Sarah Desmarais, Professor, Psychology; Director, Center for Family and Community Engagement
- Harold Freeman, Ciba Professor, Textile Engineering, Chemistry & Science
- Tom Gower, Professor, Forestry and Environmental Resources
- Robert Handfield, Bank of America University Distinguished Professor, Business Management
- Sharon Joines, Professor of Industrial Design, Director of the Research in Ergonomics & Design Laboratory
- S. Thomas Parker, Professor, History
- Wayne Place, Alumni Distinguished Professor, Architecture
- Erin Sills, Professor, Forestry & Environmental Resources
- Munindar Singh, Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor, Computer Science
- Robert C Smart, PhD, Goodnight Distinguished Chair in Molecular Toxicology;
Professor, Department of Biological Sciences and Toxicology Program; Director, Center for Human Health and the Environment,Center for Human Health and the Environment (CHHE) - Alyson Wilson, Professor, Statistics
2016 (Inaugural Class)
- Harald Ade, Distinguished Professor, Physics
- Marie Davidian, William Neal Reynolds Professor, Statistics
- Fred Gould, William Neal Reynolds Professor of Agriculture, Entomology
- Gail Jones, Distinguished Graduate Professor, STEM Education
- Y. Richard Kim, Jimmy D. Clark Distinguished University Professor, Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
- Trudy Mackay, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished University Professor, Biological Sciences
- Chris McGahan, Professor, Molecular Biomedical Sciences
- Greg Parsons, Alcoa Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Ronald Sederoff, Professor, Forestry & Environmental Resources
- Laurie Williams, Professor, Computer Science
- Walt Wolfram, William C. Friday Distinguished Professor, English
RLA Member Spotlight
