Priscilla P. Nelson

Dr. Priscilla P. Nelson joined NJIT as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs in 2005. She came to NJIT following 11 years of service at the National Science Foundation, most recently as senior advisor to the director of NSF. Previous to that, Dr. Nelson was Professor of Civil Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin through 1996. 

Dr. Nelson received a bachelor’s degree in geosciences from the University of Rochester, and three earned advanced degrees including master's degrees in both geology (Indiana University) and structural engineering (University of Oklahoma). In 1983, she received her PhD from Cornell University in geotechnical engineering. Dr. Nelson has a national and international reputation in geological and rock engineering, and the particular application of underground construction. She is also active in the fields of disaster response and critical infrastructure systems. She has more than 15 years of teaching experience and more than 120 technical and scientific publications to her credit.