Bement to Step Down as NSF Director

On February 4, 2010, In People, By Peter Harsha

National Science Foundation Director Arden Bement will leave the agency June 1st to lead a new Global Institute at Purdue University, the agency and Purdue announced today. For much of his six year stewardship of the agency, Bement dealt with relatively flat or declining budgets granted the agency by Congress. However, priority for science grew dramatically in the last few years of the Bush Administration as Bement and others were able to make the case that basic research like that supported by NSF was a fundamental driver of U.S. innovation — a priority that has continued in the first years of the Obama Administration. As a result, Bement will leave the agency on a trajectory that could see its budget double by 2017.

It’s not known at this point who will replace Bement, but we’ll keep our eyes and ears open for all the most compelling rumors and post them here.

Update: (Feb 4, 2010) — Here’s coverage from Science

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New DARPA Director Announced

On July 2, 2009, In People, By Peter Harsha

Regina Dugan will become the first woman to head the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in its 51-year history, the Department of Defense announced today. Dugan takes the reins from acting director, Robert Leheny, who has been running the agency since Tony Tether stepped down in February 2009.
From the official press release:

“Regina Dugan is precisely the dynamic leader DARPA needs to open new technology frontiers and transition revolutionary technologies to serve our nationÂ’s interests,” said Zachary J. Lemnios, director, Defense Research and Engineering.  “I am delighted she will be leading this agency and look forward to working closely with her.”
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Prior to this appointment, Dugan held several key positions in industry, most recently as president and chief executive officer of RedXDefense, LLC, which she co-founded in 2005, a company that develops defense against explosive threats.  She has also served in senior executive positions in several additional companies in roles ranging from global sales and marketing to research and product development.  Â
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During her first tour at DARPA from January 1996 to May 2000, Dugan received the program manager of the year award for her leadership of the “DogÂ’s Nose Program”, which was focused on the development of an advanced, field-portable system for detecting the explosive content of land mines.  She is also the recipient of the deFleury Medal, the office of the secretary of defense award for exceptional service, and the award for outstanding achievement.  She has participated in wide-ranging studies for the Defense Science Board, the Army Science Board, the National Research Council and Science Foundation, and currently sits on the Naval Research Advisory Committee and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency Science and Technology Panel. 

While Tether’s tenure with DARPA was the longest of any DARPA director, it also caused strain between the agency and the university research community — particularly the university computing research community — who felt that under his leadership, DARPA adopted policies that discouraged university participation in defense-related research. This blog has spilled a considerable number of electrons making that case as well. With the appointment of Dugan (and with someone familiar with the computing community in Lemnios as Director Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E)) it’s fair to say the community is optimistic some of those incredibly productive ties between university researchers and the agency will get restored. We’ll let you know how it progresses!

 
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House S&T Committee Focuses on IT at NITRD Hearing

On April 6, 2009, In CRA, Events, Funding, People, Policy, By MelissaNorr

CRA’s incoming Board Chair Peter Lee, Deborah Estrin of the University of California, Los Angeles, and Chris Greer of the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) National Coordinating Office testified before the House Science and Technology Committee last week on the NITRD Act of 2009. The Act incorporates the findings and recommendations of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) for the NITRD program. The hearing was well attended by members of the committee as well with a dozen attending at least part of the hearing.
All three witnesses praised the legislation for incorporating the PCAST recommendations for NITRD and for addressing a need in the research infrastructure. Lee specifically pointed out how easy it would be for the United States to lose the lead in IT R&D to other countries if it is not a focus, a comment picked up on by Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) during the question and answer portion of the hearing.
Questions from the Members of Congress ranged from agency participation in NITRD to security to education. Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) asked about the need for intervention in the education system to fill the pipeline of scientists particularly for attracting women and minorities. Estrin spoke to the importance of reaching children in junior high school or earlier and making the connection between computer science and the larger societal problems that it can help fix such as energy and environmental issues and healthcare improvement. Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) and Congressman Lincoln Davis (D-TN) both brought up the issue of national security, noting that there are daily attacks from other countries on our systems with the intent of uncovering sensitive data and that our networks are vulnerable to hacking. Greer noted that security is always a challenge at the forefront of NITRD. Estrin and Lee both stated that there are numerous research projects underway attempting to increase the security of networks and Estrin emphasized the necessity of having security parameters that are usable by the average person.
The committee has not yet introduced the Act, though it’s expected to shortly after the current congressional recess ends next week. When the bill is dropped, we’ll have a complete analysis of it here, so stay tuned. In the meantime, the full written testimony as well as the webcast of the full hearing is available on the Committee’s web site.

 
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