William C. Harris, Ph.D.

Education:

• B.S., Chemistry, William and Mary
• Ph.D., Chemistry, University of South Carolina

Background:

William C. Harris is the director of Innovation Advisory Partners. He has over 35 years of both international and national experience leading federal and university institutions. For 14 years, he was the president and CEO of the Science Foundation of Arizona, during which time he served as a charter member of the Governor’s Board to establish a new Arizona Commerce Authority.

Harris was a founding director general of the Science Foundation Ireland, during which time he worked with the Irish government to build research programs with national economic impact, support outstanding Irish scientists, and recruit scientists from around the world to Ireland’s universities and technological institutes.

Harris previously served as the vice president for research at the University of South Carolina, where he was also a professor of chemistry. Before joining USC, Harris was the assistant director of the Columbia University Earth Institute and president of the Biosphere 2 Center, the western campus of Columbia which focused on earth systems science and climate model testing. Harris was formerly the assistant director for mathematical and physical sciences at the National Science Foundation, and assistant to the director of the NSF. From 1978 to 1991, he also held the positions of visiting scientist and director of physical chemistry at the NSF.

Fields of Specialization: Chemistry, Nonprofit leadership