Dr. Robert G. Wilhelm

An experienced educator, researcher, engineer, and businessman, Dr. Robert G. Wilhelm provides executive and administrative leadership for the Charlotte Research Institute (CRI), UNC Charlotte's portal for business-university science and technology partnerships.

With its research centers housed in three new custom-designed buildings on the Charlotte Research Institute Campus, CRI helps companies initiate new partnerships at UNC Charlotte and offers a variety of opportunities to engage talented faculty and make use of specialized facilities that are available only at UNC Charlotte.

Wilhelm is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science in the William States Lee College of Engineering. Dr. Wilhelm has wide experience in both academic and business circles. At UNC Charlotte since 1993, Wilhelm was a founding faculty member for PhD programs in Mechanical Engineering, Biotechnology, Information Technology, and Nanoscience.

He served on the committees to form the School of Computing and Informatics and the PhD program in Optical Sciences and Engineering. Most recently he served as the associate director of the Center for Precision Metrology, an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center funded by the National Science Foundation. Before coming to Charlotte, Wilhelm worked at the Palo Alto Laboratory of Rockwell Science Center and at Cincinnati Milacron. He co-founded a high-technology manufacturing company, OpSource, Inc., in 2001.

Wilhelm holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Wichita State University, a master's degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University, and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Wilhelm also pursued postgraduate studies in Great Britain as a Rotary Foundation Fellow. His research and teaching have been recognized with the National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award. Dr. Wilhelm serves on a number of regional, national, and international advisory boards for scientific research, engineering, community and economic development, and philanthropy.