NCSU names former NASA executive to lead Centennial Campus, R&D efforts

Raleigh, N.C. — Terri Lomax is officially the new head of North Carolina State’s Centennial Campus as well as the school’s research and development efforts and graduate studies.

NCSU named Lomax as vice chancellor for those positions Wednesday. Lomax had served in an interim role since June.

The Centennial Campus is the crown jewel of NCSU’s technology research and development effort and is home to a wide variety of ventures ranging from startups to Red Hat, the world’s top Linux software developer and services provider.

A former executive at NASA, Lomax also will oversee R&D efforts that includes a budget of more than $300 million.

"The vice chancellor for research is a key position in the university's research enterprise," NCSU Chancellor James Oblinger said in a statement. "Terri Lomax has more than 20 years of experience, including her work at NASA. She brings the leadership and creativity necessary to manage our broad and extensive research efforts and ensure growth in a time of intense budgetary pressures."

Lomax served as dean of NCSU’s Graduate School before taking on the vice chancellor role. A NASA, she was division director of the Fundamental Space Biology Program and acting deputy associate administrator for research at the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.

A former professor at Oregon State, Lomax has been named a Fulbright Fellow, Carnegie Fellow, National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow and Monsanto Research Fellow. She earned a bachelor’s degree in botany at the University of Washington, a master’s degree in botany/biology at San Diego State, and a doctorate in biological sciences at Stanford.