Angela K. Wilson

Angela K. Wilson is an American scientist and former (2022) President of the American Chemical Society. She currently serves as the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, associate dean for strategic initiatives in the College of Natural Sciences, and director of the MSU Center for Quantum Computing, Science, and Engineering (MSU-Q) at Michigan State University.

Wilson received her Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in chemistry from Eastern Washington University and her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in chemical physics. She was a post-doctoral fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL). She worked on an MBA at the University of Oklahoma, and completed leadership training including the Harvard Institute for Management & Leadership in Education (MLE) program, Leadership America, Leadership Texas, and other programs. Some of her early influences were via the Girl Scouts, where she earned a Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouts.

Wilson joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of North Texas in 2000 as an assistant professor. She became a full professor in 2009 and was named a Regents Professor in 2011. In 2005, she established and became the director of the Texas Center for Advanced Scientific Computing and Modeling (CASCaM).

Following multiple roles within the Department of Chemistry and a two-year administrative fellowship in the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, in 2015, Wilson became the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty and led the Office of Faculty Success at the university, working with ~2,400 faculty and ~58 department chairs.

In 2016, Wilson was recruited to the National Science Foundation (NSF), where she served in the senior executive service of the federal government as Director of the Division of Chemistry, heading the division from 2016 to 2018. There, she led the investments in chemistry research across the nation for NSF, with an annual budget of ~$250M.

She also became John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in 2016 at Michigan State University, joining the Department of Chemistry. After her rotation at NSF, Wilson was an Academic Advancement Network Fellow in the Office of the Dean in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. In 2019, she established and began to serve as director at the MSU Center for Quantum Computing, Science, and Engineering (MSU-Q). At that time, she also helped to establish the MSU Center for PFAS Research. In 2020, she became Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives in the College of Natural Sciences. In 2024, she became Faculty Senate Chair at Michigan State University.

Wilson has held prominent leadership roles in major scientific societies. In 2022, she was president of the American Chemical Society (ACS), one of the world's largest scientific societies, with over 200,000 members and an annual operating budget of more than $700M, with two major business operations. From 2021-2023, she served as a member of the ACS board of directors. She has served on the Leadership Bureau of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), as well as president of IUPAC Division I, the Division of Physical and Biophysical Chemistry. She was chair of the chemistry section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). For the U.S. National Academies, she served as the chair of the U.S. National Committee for IUPAC, and has served on the U.S. Delegation to the IUPAC General Assembly on five occasions, chairing the delegation twice.

In 2024, she was elected as Treasurer and member of the Board of Directors of the American Physical Society. She also serves on the Council and Council Executive Committee of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.