Past Leadership

Dr. Robert Plemmons, Director, 1986-1990

Dr. Robert Plemmons was one of the founders of, and the first director of the CRSC, and was also a professor of Mathematics at North Carolina State University from 1981 until 1990, when he moved to Wake Forest University.

Dr. Plemmons received his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Auburn University in 1965. His research includes computational mathematics applied to problems arising in image and signal processing, optics, and photonics, having authored over 250 books and articles on the topic. Dr. Plemmons has presented over 350 research lectures over his career, including lectures in over 30 foreign countries, and has received grants from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the Army Research Office (ARO) and the Department of Energy (DOE).

Dr. H. Thomas Banks, Director, 1992-2018

Dr. H. Thomas Banks joined the faculty of the North Carolina State University as University Professor and Drexel Professor of Mathematics, and Director of CRSC in 1992. As the Director of CRSC, Tom, or HT as he was known to all, made a number of important institutional contributions in addition to pursuing a prolific research and educational career that includes more than 550 peer-reviewed publications and ten books to his name. Among his many achievements at NC State, he established the internationally recognized Industrially Applied Mathematics Program (IAMP) specializing in research projects and graduate/postdoctoral training with industries and government laboratories.

Tom served as Director of CRSC until the end of 2018. On December 31, 2019, Tom passed away after a short illness at the age of 79.