Login
Who We Are Sylvia Wilson Thomas
Sylvia Wilson Thomas
Vice President for Research & Innovation | President & CEO of the USF Research Foundation, University of South Florida
As Vice President for Research & Innovation and President & CEO of the USF Research Foundation, Dr. Thomas directs aspects of USF’s research and innovation enterprise as a member of USF’s presidential and provostal cabinets. Vice President Thomas has contributed to USF’s efforts for research innovation, strategic planning and renewal, faculty success, consolidation, accelerating research translation, entrepreneurialism, collaborative partnerships, and student research and workforce development. She is a Professor in Electrical Engineering, affiliate faculty in Medical Engineering, and former Assistant Dean at USF College of Engineering.
She is an inductee to the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), Fellow of the Academy of Science Engineering and Medicine of Florida (ASEMFL), and Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). She currently serves on the US Council on Competitiveness, as President of the USF IEEE Florida West Coast Section of Engineering in Medicine and Biology, and Vice President/Treasurer of the Florida Education Fund. Having over 25 years of global experience in academia and industry, Dr. Thomas is the author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, proceedings, presentations, and eleven (11) book chapters, and her creative, current affairs-driven projects have been supported by a wide-range of funders, from the USF seed grant programs to the National Science Foundation.
She is the recipient of the 2023 Top 50 Women Leaders In Education, 2022 Florida Trend’s 500 Most Influential Business Leaders and the 2020 Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) STEM Educational Leadership Award. As an advocate for innovation and collaborative engagement, she has produced 13 patents and patent disclosures and assisted in the success of such companies and organizations as Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, Agere Systems, Kimberly Clark Corporation, IBM, and Procter & Gamble and the National GEM Consortium. She is a champion for broadening participation for women, veterans, and underrepresented minorities, and her outreach includes international efforts in Italy, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Portugal, South Korea, Mexico, Panama, France, Brazil, and South Africa. Dr. Thomas' research and teaching endeavors are focused on bio (biomedical, biological) and nano electronic device integration using advanced membrane/material systems to meet global technological challenges for alternative energy sources, sustainable environments, and bio-applications. Her research explores the synthesis and device integration of inorganic and organic thin films and nanofibers. Thomas’ research group specializes in characterizing, modeling, and integrating materials that demonstrate high levels of sensing, biocompatibility, bioelectronics, thermal reflectivity, mechanical robustness, and environmental sustainability. Her research is interdisciplinary in nature and fosters collaborations across One USF, regionally, nationally, and globally through the Advanced Materials/Membrane Bio and Integration Research (AMBIR) laboratory. Dr. Thomas is involved in various organizations, having served as the first female chair and Florida Senate appointee to the Florida Education Fund Board of Directors and the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies. Additionally, she has served/serves as advisor for the Society of Women Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and National Society of Black Engineers. Dr. Thomas has been PI/director/co-director of NSF Research Experience for Undergraduate sites, NSF Research Experience for Teachers programs, NSF International Research Experience for Students, NSF ADVANCE, and NSF Florida Alliance for Graduate Education in the Professoriate (FL-AGEP) Transformation Alliance.
She holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, where she was a Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow, and received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Howard University, as a NSF Materials Research Center of Excellence Fellow.
She is an inductee to the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), Fellow of the Academy of Science Engineering and Medicine of Florida (ASEMFL), and Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). She currently serves on the US Council on Competitiveness, as President of the USF IEEE Florida West Coast Section of Engineering in Medicine and Biology, and Vice President/Treasurer of the Florida Education Fund. Having over 25 years of global experience in academia and industry, Dr. Thomas is the author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, proceedings, presentations, and eleven (11) book chapters, and her creative, current affairs-driven projects have been supported by a wide-range of funders, from the USF seed grant programs to the National Science Foundation.
She is the recipient of the 2023 Top 50 Women Leaders In Education, 2022 Florida Trend’s 500 Most Influential Business Leaders and the 2020 Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) STEM Educational Leadership Award. As an advocate for innovation and collaborative engagement, she has produced 13 patents and patent disclosures and assisted in the success of such companies and organizations as Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, Agere Systems, Kimberly Clark Corporation, IBM, and Procter & Gamble and the National GEM Consortium. She is a champion for broadening participation for women, veterans, and underrepresented minorities, and her outreach includes international efforts in Italy, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Portugal, South Korea, Mexico, Panama, France, Brazil, and South Africa. Dr. Thomas' research and teaching endeavors are focused on bio (biomedical, biological) and nano electronic device integration using advanced membrane/material systems to meet global technological challenges for alternative energy sources, sustainable environments, and bio-applications. Her research explores the synthesis and device integration of inorganic and organic thin films and nanofibers. Thomas’ research group specializes in characterizing, modeling, and integrating materials that demonstrate high levels of sensing, biocompatibility, bioelectronics, thermal reflectivity, mechanical robustness, and environmental sustainability. Her research is interdisciplinary in nature and fosters collaborations across One USF, regionally, nationally, and globally through the Advanced Materials/Membrane Bio and Integration Research (AMBIR) laboratory. Dr. Thomas is involved in various organizations, having served as the first female chair and Florida Senate appointee to the Florida Education Fund Board of Directors and the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies. Additionally, she has served/serves as advisor for the Society of Women Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and National Society of Black Engineers. Dr. Thomas has been PI/director/co-director of NSF Research Experience for Undergraduate sites, NSF Research Experience for Teachers programs, NSF International Research Experience for Students, NSF ADVANCE, and NSF Florida Alliance for Graduate Education in the Professoriate (FL-AGEP) Transformation Alliance.
She holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, where she was a Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow, and received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Howard University, as a NSF Materials Research Center of Excellence Fellow.