Angela Wilson has recently landed not one, but two new positions.
The accomplished computational chemist was recently hired at Michigan State University as the Hannah Professor of Computational Chemistry. But before she’ll begin working in East Lansing, she’ll head to Washington, D.C., to start her position as director for the National Science Foundation’s Division of Chemistry.
She’ll join MSU in February, and her lab is tentatively scheduled to be up and running by fall 2016. Wilson and her students will focus on new computational methods and how they apply to diverse problems, ranging from protein modeling to understanding the mechanical properties of aircraft design materials.
“We are thrilled that Professor Wilson will soon be joining MSU,” said Robert Maleczka, professor and chair of the chemistry department. “She is a globally prominent scholar with a superb record of leadership and team building, and given her stature, it is not surprising that the NSF asked her to accept a leadership position.”
At NSF, she’ll oversee all of the chemistry division’s programs, ranging from the support of fundamental research at the forefront of the chemical sciences to contributing to other, NSF-wide initiatives. For the next two years, she will be splitting her time between MSU and NSF.
“It is very exciting to have one of our own faculty step into this important NSF position,” Maleczka said. “Along with our history of regular single-investigator NSF grants and many programmatic grants, our department is proud to now add NSF division director to that list – and that's pretty cool."
Wilson will leave her current position as Regents Professor of Chemistry at the University of North Texas. She earned her doctorate in chemical physics from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.