Bio

Dr. Krista Walton was appointed vice chancellor for research and innovation in June 2025. She came to NC State from Georgia Tech, where she served as the Associate Vice President for Research Operations and Infrastructure and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering. Dr. Walton’s prior leadership positions also include founding Director and Lead PI of Georgia Tech’s DOE Energy Frontier Research Center and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech. She served as Secretary/Treasurer of the International Adsorption Society, was the Co-Chair for DOE Basic Energy Sciences Roundtable on Foundational Science for Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies (2022), and recently served as a member of the 2022-2024 cohort of DARPA’s prestigious Defense Science Study Group.

Dr. Walton is a chemical engineer and earned her B.S.E from the University of Alabama-Huntsville and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. Her academic career has focused on building and sustaining an active research group focused on the design, synthesis, and characterization of functional porous materials for use in adsorption applications including CO₂ capture, atmospheric water extraction, and air purification. She has raised over $36M in external research funding as PI during her career. She has published over 140 peer-reviewed articles and presented dozens of plenary lectures, keynotes, and invited seminars. Dr. Walton has mentored over 30 PhD graduates from her group and dozens of postdocs and senior researchers. She also co-founded three spin-off companies from her research over the past decade.

Dr. Walton is a Fellow in both the International Adsorption Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her accomplishments have been recognized by many national and international awards including the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Institute Award for Excellence in Industrial Gases Technology (2024), the Department of Energy Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award for Atomic, Molecular, and Chemical Sciences (2020), the inaugural International Adsorption Society Award for Excellence in Publications by a Young Member of the Society (2013), the Army Research Office Young Investigator Award (2007), and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2007).