Integrative Sciences Initiative Directors and Woodson Hall Occupants Announced

Two new directors of NC State’s Integrative Sciences Initiative (ISI) and the first occupants of Woodson Hall, the heart of the ISI, have been announced. Milad Abolhasani and Melanie Simpson were named director of accelerated technologies and director of research, respectively, effective October 1. 

Abolhasani is an Alcoa Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. As director of accelerated technologies, he will lead the implementation of ISI’s vision regarding artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic infrastructure and related technologies from both a curriculum and research point of view. Additionally, he will provide operation plans for leveraging AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning) and lead the development of grants and other proposals for funding of research efforts, and collaborate with interdisciplinary colleagues to create opportunities for seed funding and pilot projects.

Simpson is a professor and head of the Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry. As director of research, she will lead the implementation of ISI’s research vision, chair the ISI’s research advisory committee, provide operation plans for research ‘cores’, building research operations and funding models, and lead the development of grants and other proposals for funding of research efforts, with a particular focus on core labs and molecular metabolism/imaging topics. She will also work to create opportunities for seed funding and pilot projects.

Upon completion in 2026, Woodson Hall will bring to life the vision for an interdisciplinary space to unite the molecular sciences. From the start, the vision was to create a hub of learning and research, focused on collaborative engagement and interactive opportunities. Open lab and office space, as well as a model for internally shared equipment and cores, are central to Woodson Hall.

The initial group of faculty selected for occupancy in Woodson Hall was designated by Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Warwick Arden based on their research and space requirements, collaborative involvement in the Chemistry of Life program, and a desire to engage in an open, interdisciplinary environment. They are:

• Milad Abolhasani (ISI Director and Alcoa Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, College of Engineering)
• Wei-Chen Chang (Associate Professor of Chemistry, College of Sciences)
• Nathan Crook (Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, College of Engineering)
• Mary Elting (Associate Professor of Physics, College of Sciences)
• Phoebe Glazer (Professor of Chemistry, College of Sciences, First ISI Strategic Cluster Hire)
• Jessica Gluck (Assistant Professor of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science, Wilson College of Textiles)
• Arion Kennedy (Assistant Professor of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
• Albert Keung (Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, College of Engineering)
• Sharonda LeBlanc (Assistant Professor of Physics, College of Sciences)
• Xiaojing Liu (Assistant Professor of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
• Tom Makris (Professor of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
• Joshua Pierce (ISI Executive Director and Howard J. Schaeffer Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, College of Sciences)
• Caroline Proulx (Associate Professor of Chemistry, College of Sciences)
• Melanie Simpson (ISI Director, Department Head and Professor of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
• Gavin Williams (Department Head and Professor of Chemistry, College of Sciences)
• Yang Zhang (Assistant Professor of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science, Wilson College of Textiles)

Over the coming year, additional faculty will be added and plans for the Integrative Sciences Strategic Cluster Hiring program will be finalized. Through their work, Woodson Hall and the ISI will provide critical scientific and operational support for molecularly-focused faculty across campus. 

This post was originally published in Provost's Office News.