New Members Join National Science Board

Eight new members are set to join the National Science Board, filling its 24-seat capacity. As members of the National Science Foundation’s most high-profile board, NSB members are responsible for overseeing NSF policies and serve as independent advisors to the president and Congress. The new appointees, selected by President Joe Biden, were announced on Oct. 15.

The eight appointees:

Alondra Nelson is a sociologist who led the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on an interim basis from 2021 to 2023. She is known for her August 2022 memorandum on public access, also known as the Nelson Memo, which requires federal agencies to ensure the science research they fund is openly available at the time of publication. Nelson is a professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study and leads the Science, Technology, and Social Values Lab.

Willie May is a chemist and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. May is vice president for research and economic development at Morgan State University and was previously director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Jeffrey Isaacson is president and chief executive officer of the Universities Space Research Association. He previously held executive positions at Sandia National Labs, RAND Corporation, and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. Isaacson served 25 years in the U.S. Navy Reserve and is a former member of the Army Science Board.

Joan Ferrini-Mundy is president of the University of Maine and chair-elect of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities’ Council of Presidents. Ferrini-Mundy previously ran NSF’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources.

Sarah O’Donnell works for the MITRE Corporation as the chief engineer for naval programs at the National Security Engineering Center.

Ryan Panchadsaram is an investor who served as the deputy chief technology officer of the United States during the Obama administration.

Juan Gilbert is chair of the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Department at the University of Florida, where he leads the Computing for Social Good Lab.

Yolanda Gil is a fellow and senior director for artificial intelligence and data science strategy at the Information Sciences Institute, director of AI and data science initiatives in the Viterbi School of Engineering, and a research professor in computer science and spatial sciences at the University of Southern California.

The new board members will serve six-year terms. They will replace outgoing board members Deborah Ball, Vicki Chandler, Maureen Condic, Suresh Garimella, Steve Leath, Dan Reed, Alan Stern, and Steve Willard, whose terms officially ended in May but most of whom remained in their roles on a consultant basis.

The NSB typically meets four times a year and is expected to hold its next meeting on Dec. 4. Some of NSB’s current major projects are its study of the merit review process at NSF and its preparation of the 2026 edition of its biennial report on the state of U.S. science and engineering. The board is also supporting science leaders’ efforts to create a national STEM talent strategy modeled on the National Defense and Education Act of 1958.