Narcisa Pricope, PhD

I lead interdisciplinary research development and external engagement efforts focused on building institutional capacity for large, complex, and impact-driven research programs. My work centers on translating national priorities into campus action while enabling faculty success and strengthening MSU’s competitiveness across federal, industry, and regional partnerships. Portfolio highlights include: • Building cross-college teams across engineering, agriculture, geosciences, data science, chemistry, and social sciences, advancing 20+ interdisciplinary concepts into coordinated proposal efforts • Establishing confidential engagement pathways with 10+ industry partners to support co-development in energy, resilience, and data-driven decision systems • Spearhead the launch of foundational platforms in energy resilience, research intelligence, and PFAS/One Health designed to grow beyond individual projects • Expanding MSU’s engagement with federal agencies, national laboratories, industry, and regional partners to strengthen institutional visibility and readiness for convergence-scale research • Improving institutional preparedness for complex awards through early team formation, opportunity curation, and upstream integration of research security considerations • Designing and leading a year-long professional development program for postdoctoral researchers, supporting the next generation of research leaders Across this role, I focus on building people, platforms, and partnerships simultaneously, growing interdisciplinary programs, strengthening research ecosystems, and translating strategy into funded, mission-driven initiatives.

Advise on research security framework development and provide connectivity to the NSF SECURE Center and program.

I provide national leadership for the Expert Areas portfolio of the NSF SECURE Center, overseeing a multidisciplinary team of six at Mississippi State University and guiding high-priority tools and frameworks that advance U.S. research security. My role currently focuses on Year 2 implementation, national coordination across regional teams, and alignment of technical development with Center priorities in Community, Solutions, and Operations. I lead the development and integration of flagship products, including research travel risk resources, country awareness mapping, risk assessment and escalation frameworks, research incidents intake system, and early Research Intelligence Center prototypes. I coordinate national and regional engagement through co-creation workshops, discovery sessions, and stakeholder reviews, while contributing directly to technical analysis, documentation, and data validation.

• Collaborated with scientific panels to produce peer-reviewed technical reports and science-policy briefs for the UNCCD Science-Policy Interface. • Conducted peer reviews of scientific assessments and communicated with the scientific community to encourage relevant research. • Translated scientific findings into policy-relevant recommendations to support policy development.

Our cohort had the opportunity to see Mississippi through the work of the people who power our most critical sectors. We stood inside the nation’s largest military shipbuilding complex on the Gulf Coast and witnessed aerospace and satellite innovation at Stennis where companies like L3Harris Technologies and Lockheed Martin are shaping the future of defense and space technologies. We heard directly from the U.S. Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command and learned how Mississippi contributes to national security in ways that often go unseen. We spent time in the Delta gaining a clearer understanding of the logistics and agricultural systems that sustain communities and help fuel the national food supply. We explored the manufacturing economic engines of the Golden Triangle (Steel Dynamics, Inc , PACCAR) and the energy of the Capital Region where policy, business, and community leadership intersect. What struck me throughout these visits was the extraordinary diversity of Mississippi’s contribution to the national economy. Nowhere else have I seen such a mix of world class manufacturing, agricultural innovation, defense and aerospace capabilities, scientific research, and community driven entrepreneurship operating side by side. These systems rely on one another in ways that become visible only when you step into each sector and listen. The relationships built through this program are just as important. I have had the privilege of learning from professionals across the state whose commitment to their work is truly inspiring and whose perspectives have broadened my understanding of what progress requires. Many of these colleagues have become friends and I will carry these connections with me long after the program ends. Leadership Mississippi reinforced something essential: the future depends on cross sector collaboration and the ability of leaders to understand how economic, environmental, technological, and social systems fit together.

Serving on the FAO Team responsible for producing the annual flagship publication called The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA).

Advised +25 students every semester, conducted program assessment, evaluation and reporting, reorganized and restructured the program.

Applied Geography - Human-Environment Interactions, GIS, Remote Sensing

Secured, implemented and led the UNCW FAA Collegiate Training Initiative.

Beginning in Fall 2018, the University of North Carolina Wilmington participates in a Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) Certificate Program both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The GEOINT Certificate has been accredited by the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF, http://www.usgif.org). The GEOINT Certificate is designed to connect students with federal agencies, industry and other stakeholders working in GEOINT.

I worked as a research associate in the Adaptive Management: Water, Watersheds, Wetlands National Science Foundation IGERT program, under the leadership of Dr. Mark Brown from the Dept. of Environmental Engineering. I also taught two courses (Physical Geography and Human Footprint on the Landscape) and was a TA for the graduate classes in the Environmental Engineering Department.

I worked as a research assistant on a USGS-funded project aimed at understanding sources of non-point pollution in agricultural watersheds in Kentucky. I was involved in setting up monitoring equipment on both surface streams in Kentucky, as well as underground streams in Mammoth Cave National Park.