Victor R. McCrary is the Vice Provost for National Security Innovation at The Catholic University of America. In this role, he is responsible for building the University’s ecosystem in national security from research, workforce development, technology commercialization and strategic partnerships. He has held previous roles as the inaugural Vice President for Research at the University of the District of Columbia, where he championed University’s research enterprise leading to its initial Carnegie designation as a ‘Research College & University’. He has held research and technology leadership positions at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Morgan State University, University of Tennessee, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST. Dr. McCrary’s career includes basic and applied research in laser spectroscopy, semiconductors, convergent information systems and technologies for national security applications. He received his doctoral degree in chemistry from Howard University, a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from The Catholic University of America.
Dr. McCrary has authored and co-authored more than 60 technical papers and co-edited two books during his career at AT&T Bell Laboratories and NIST. He has received numerous honors and awards including co-recipient of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Gold Medal in 2000 for developing standards for the electronic book industry, and the 2002 Percy Julian Award by the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) for his pioneering work in the metal organic chemical vapor deposition of semiconductors. He served as national president of NOBCChE for two years.In 2011, he was honored as Scientist of the Year by the Annual Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) STEM Conference for his leadership in basic research investments for national security. He is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS), a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus.
In October 2016, was appointed Dr. McCrary to serve on the National Science Board which oversees the National Science Foundation, and he was re-appointed in 2022 to a six-year term on the National Science Board. He was elected in July 2025 as the current Chair of the National Science Board.
