National Science Board will meet February 12, 2019, in Alexandria, VA

February 6, 2019

Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Coordination Chris Liddell, Nobel Laureate Barry Barish, and former DOD defense research and engineering director Anita Jones will present during open plenary sessions

The National Science Board (NSB, Board) will meet February 12, 2019 to address science and engineering policy issues relevant to the National Science Foundation (NSF). Members of the media and the public are invited to open portions of the meeting, which will also be webcast: https://www.tvworldwide.com/events/nsf/190212/. The meeting agenda is available here.

Meeting sessions open to the public on Tuesday, February 12, 2019:

NSB Plenary (8:00 – 9:30 a.m.)

NSB alumni Barry Barish and Anita Jones will share their thoughts about future challenges and opportunities for the US science and engineering enterprise. An experimental physicist at the California Institute of Technology, Dr. Barish was the principal investigator of the NSF-funded Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and created the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.  Dr. Jones is a computer scientist and directed the defense research and engineering of the U.S. Department of Defense, including its laboratories and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency from 1993 to 1997.  Former Board member Vint Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google, will moderate the discussion. 

NSB Chair Diane Souvaine and NSF Director France Córdova will provide overviews of recent activities.

National Science Board Plenary (1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.)

Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Coordination Chris Liddell will talk to the Board about American Business Innovation.

National Science Board Plenary (4:30 – 5:15 p.m.)

NSB committee chairs will provide brief updates on current and upcoming activities.

Closed portions of the February meeting will include action items on the Antarctic Infrastructure Modernization for Science project, the International Ocean Discovery Program of the JOIDES Resolution, updates on the National Ecological Observatory Network, the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, and information about NSF’s budget and impacts of the shutdown.

About the National Science Board

The National Science Board and the National Science Foundation's Director jointly head NSF. NSB identifies issues critical to NSF's future and establishes the Foundation's policies. The NSB also provides the President and Congress with Science and Engineering Indicators, a biennial report on U.S. progress in science and technology. Members are appointed by the President for six-year terms and selected for their eminence in research, education and records of distinguished service.

Note: Reporters are invited to attend all open sessions, subject to provisions of the Government in the Sunshine Act. All sessions will be held at the NSF headquarters at 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia.  Journalists interested in attending and covering the meeting should contact Nadine Lymn at (703) 292-2490 or nlymn@nsf.gov.

Useful NSB Web Sites:

Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb
Media Contact: http://www.nsf.gov/staff/staff_bio.jsp?lan=nlymn&org=NSF
News: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/news
Meetings: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/meetings
Publications: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalScienceBoard
Twitter: Twitter: https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=NSF_NSB
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkrHRzuGSrPp2haQs0T_Pww