Gerald O Wilson

Dr. Gerald O. Wilson is the President and CEO of Autonomic Materials, Inc. (AMI), an advanced materials company based in Champaign, IL. In this role, Dr. Wilson is responsible for P&L, corporate strategy development and execution, Product Development and Management and investor relations. Building on a technology platform originally developed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, AMI is leveraging self-healing materials technology in the design of paradigm-shifting protective materials with improved corrosion resistance after damage.

As CEO, he has led the development of the company’s AMP-UPTM protective coatings product line aimed at eliminating traditional tradeoffs between high performance corrosion protection and environmental responsibility. The company’s technology platform was recently recognized as the Materials Performance Corrosion Innovation of the Year by NACE International (now AMPP), the Worldwide Authority on corrosion and as a Solar Impulse Efficient Solution.

Prior to his current role, Dr. Wilson was the Vice President of Technology Development at AMI, during which he was responsible for the company’s research and development, new product development, application development, product scale up and manufacturing functions. In this role, he led the development, scale up and commercial introduction of the company’s AMPARMORTM product line, including support of a new product launch by a top 10 coatings brand.

Over the course of his career at AMI, Dr. Wilson has led or supported over $20M in equity investment and non-dilutive capital commitments.

For almost two decades, Dr. Wilson has developed new chemistries for self-healing coating, adhesive, sealant, composite, and biomedical applications. He has authored or co-authored 70 peer-reviewed articles, conference proceedings and invited lectures in a variety of professional national and international forums and is an inventor on 31 issued and pending patents. Dr. Wilson earned a B.A. in Chemistry from Macalester College, a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering and an M.B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Illinois Research Park, a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Technology Entrepreneur Center in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a leadership coach and workshop facilitator for the Illinois Leadership Center.