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Dr. Helena S. Wisniewski

Marion Porter Chair, Professor of Entrepreneurship

Management, Marketing, Logistics, and Business Analytics [Chair]
Helena S. Wisniewski

Biography

Dr. Helena S. Wisniewski is the first appointed Marion Porter Chair of Business Education. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) in recognition of creating and facilitating inventions that have a tangible impact on society, improving the quality of life, and contributing to economic development. She has extensive executive and leadership experience in industry, government, academia, and service on public and private boards of directors. She is a technological entrepreneur who has launched 12 startup companies across diverse technology areas.

Wisniewski directed corporate-wide technology innovations as a Corporate Director at the Lockheed Corporation and vice president of Titan Corporation and ANSER. As CEO/Founder of Aurora Biometrics, she built an international business and sold the company. At the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), she identified and directed many breakthroughs in science, mathematics, engineering and pioneered advances in AI as Manager of the Applied and Computational Mathematics Program she created.

Before DARPA, she served at the CIA. As Vice Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at UAA, she led and grew the university's research enterprise and commercialization infrastructure, dramatically increased the number of patents, established the Patent Wall of Fame, and launched its first startups. She created the Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) to develop and transition technologies to improve crisis response capabilities in the Arctic and as the Founding Director, led the effort to make it the first DHS Center of Excellence in Alaska.

Before UAA, Wisniewski was the Vice President for Research and Enterprise Development at Stevens Institute of Technology; she tripled research revenues, launched nine startups, and sold two. She is currently the Chair of the Management, Marketing, Logistics, and Business Analytics Department and Professor of Entrepreneurship in CBPP. She established the first Alaska Chapter of the National Academy of Inventors, successfully organized the CBPP Business Plan Competitions, and developed five certificates. She is spearheading AI initiatives. She developed and teaches the course AI with Business Applications, created the AI Webinar Series, and established the Data Science and AI Lab in collaboration with the College of Engineering.

She was featured in the 25th Anniversary Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering as a “Prolific Innovator” and was the IBM Distinguished Speaker for their webinar series broadcast worldwide – she presented “The Convergence of Emerging Technologies with AI.” Also, she was appointed Special Editor of the new journal AI Education Journal of NAI and has a contract with World Scientific to write her book “Global Supply Chain Management with Emerging Technologies.” Among her awards are the CBPP Innovator Award 2021-22, CBPP Graduate Teacher of the Year 2020-21, Vocational Service Award from Anchorage International Rotary Club, Paul Harris Fellow, the 2001 Women in Technology Award for Entrepreneurship, Award of Honor in Recognition of Extraordinary Leadership, and Management from Lockheed, Special Recognition Award from DARPA, a Special Achievement Award from the CIA.

Dr. Wisniewski provided testimony on emerging technologies to the US Senate and Alaska state legislators, and the Governor appointed her to serve on the New Industry Development Team. She serves on the Boards of the Anchorage International Rotary Club and the FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association.

Research

  • “The Next Generation of Innovation”, Technology & Innovation, 2022 National Academy of Inventors Annual Meeting Special Issue (2023)
    Journal Article
  • “A New Innovation Integration Model: Fuyao Glass Industry Group and Sany Heavy Industry Co. Ltd Cases”, Journal of Innovations (2023)
    Journal Article
  • “Creating an Ecosystem for Academic Entrepreneurship”, World Scientific (2020)
    Book
  • “WHAT IS THE BUSINESS WITH AI? PREPARING FUTURE DECISION MAKERS AND LEADERS”, Technology & Innovation/National Academy of Inventors (2020)
    Journal Article
  • “Creator and editor of "Innovation Frontier" UAA's Annual Research Report”, (2017)
    Magazine/Trade Publication
  • “Entrepreneurship in Biomedical Engineering, from Classroom to Corporation: A Model and Case Study”, (2007)
    Journal Article
Additional Research

Education & Affiliations

Education

The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, PhD in Mathematics
Stevens Institute of Technology, MS in Mathematics
William Paterson University, BA in Mathematics

Affiliations

Digital Twins Consortium
Federal Bureau of Investigation Ancorage Citizens Academy Alimni Association, Board Member
Anchorage International Rotary Club, Board Member (AIRC)
Fellow, National Academy of Inventors (FNAI)
National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2)
Anchorage International Rotary Club, Paul Harris Fellow (AIRC)
Federal Bureau of Investigation Ancorage Citizens Academy (FBI)
Commonwealth North
National Council of Entrepreneurial Technology Transfer (NCET2)
Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association (AFCEA)
New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS)
SPIE, International Society for Optical Engineering.
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sr. Member (AIAA)
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM)