Menu Close

Caroline Wagner

(she/her)
Professor of Public Affairs, The Ohio State University

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.

Professor Wagner received a Ph.D. in Science & Technology Dynamics from Amsterdam School of Communications Research, University of Amsterdam, a Master of Arts degree in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from George Washington University, and a B.A. is from Trinity College.

Knowledge creation, dissemination, and application are at the core of Dr. 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 2018 book, The Collaborative Era in Science, focuses on how a global network of collaborators is reshaping the science system.

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.

Prior to joining Ohio State’s faculty in 2011, Dr. Wagner was a policy analyst working with and for government in a career that spanned more than thirty 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, Dr. 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, Dr. 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. Dr. Wagner is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an elected member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Experience

  • 2011–2023
    Professor, Ohio State University

Honours

Distinguished Fellow, AAAS; Elected member, Council on Foreign Relations; inaugural holder, Milton & Roslyn Wolf Chair in International Affairs (Ohio State University)