N.C. A&T’s Smith-Jackson Appointed to Statewide Science, Technology and Innovation Board

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (May 8, 2020) – Tonya Smith-Jackson, Ph.D., senior vice provost for academic affairs at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, has been appointed to the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Board of Science, Technology and Innovation.

With a mission to “improve the economic well-being and quality of life of all North Carolinians advancing science, technology and innovation,” the advisory board explores emerging areas for science and technology and analyzes the state’s competitiveness in industry and research institutions compared with peers.

“I am very happy to contribute to the conversation about equity in access to technology and innovation at this level. It is a great opportunity to have an impact on my home state,” said Smith-Jackson. “North Carolina A&T has already positioned ourselves in IoT, cybersecurity and entrepreneurship and having a voice at the state level helps others understand just how much HBCUs have to bring to the table.”

Smith-Jackson is one of 17 members appointed to the Board of Science, Technology and Innovation by Gov. Roy Cooper. N.C. A&T is the only HBCU represented on the board. In 2018, she also served at the National Science Foundation for a year as program director of the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate in the Cyber-Human Systems Program before returning to N.C. A&T in the role of interim director for the Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity, Research, Education and Outreach.

Smith-Jackson earned a B.A. in psychology from UNC-Chapel Hill, an M.S. in interdisciplinary psychology/ergonomics and industrial engineering and a Ph.D. in psychology/ergonomics from NC State University.

Working briefly in the private sector, Smith-Jackson joined the faculty of Virginia Tech in 1999. After 14 years, she joined N.C. A&T as professor and chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, founded the Human Factors Analytics Laboratory and later founded and co-directed the Cyber-Human Analytics Research for the Internet of Things (IoT) Laboratory.