Caroline S. Wagner

Dr. Caroline S. Wagner conducts research in the field of science and technology and its relationship to policy, society and innovation, with a particular focus on international collaboration.

Wagner received a doctorate in science and technology dynamics from Amsterdam School of Communications Research, University of Amsterdam, a Master of Arts in Science, Technology and Public Policy from George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College.

She currently serves on the faculty of the John Glenn College of Public Affairs, and as an advisor to the Battelle Center for Science and Technology Policy — a research center within the Glenn College. She is on the advisory board of Ohio State University ADVANCE program to increase the participation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers.

Prior to joining Ohio State’s faculty in 2011, Wagner was a policy analyst working with and for government in a career that spanned more than 30 years and three continents. At The RAND Corporation, she was deputy to the director of the Science & Technology Policy Institute, a research center serving the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. This position included crafting and coordinating research projects related to science and technology subjects across a number of disciplines and locations. Wagner’s role was to act as project manager, writer and policy analyst on more than 12 major projects for RAND. Also, with RAND, Wagner served at RAND Europe’s office in Leiden, Netherlands, working for the European Commission. She also worked twice as staff member for the U.S. Congress, once as a Professional Staff Member for the Committee for Science, Space and Technology, and once as an analyst for the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. With the U.S. State Department, Wagner was stationed for two years at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, as an economic officer reporting on technological change in Asia. Wagner is a distinguished fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an elected member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Knowledge creation, dissemination and application are at the core of Wagner’s research. She is particularly interested in collaborative efforts to conduct research, development and innovation. Public policy towards investments in science, technology and new economy are at the center of her work, and this extends to developing countries that seek to use knowledge as the basis for growth. Her 2008 book, “The New Invisible College: Science for Development,” focused on using network concepts to diffuse knowledge and application of new ideas.

Wagner engages with students at all levels, from a freshman seminar on the history of space, to doctoral students in public policy analysis. Her favorite class is Leadership in Public and Nonprofit Sectors, where she teaches and guides the future leaders of our nation and where she brings her own experience working with the White House and the U.S. Congress into the classroom. She welcomes students dropping by her office at any time.

Wagner serves as a consultant to the United Nations for the Sustainable Development Goals, and has served as a consultant to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. For the Royal Society of London, Wagner advised and co-wrote the report on “Knowledge, Networks and Nations.” She served on the Millennium Development Goals Task Force on Science, Technology and Innovation. She is the editor of the journal Science and Public Policy. In Ohio, she is actively working with Smart Cities and the “Maker Movement” to disseminate ideas for economic growth.

Wagner has been married for 33 years to Dennis McIntosh, and together they are the proud parents of three children.