Arizona State University’s senior vice president of the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development and the leader of ASU’s research, entrepreneurship and economic development efforts, Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, has been appointed to the U.S. National Science Board by President Obama.
Panchanathan first person from the state of Arizona has been appointed to this board. He is also is the first American of Indian origin to be on the board.
In addition to being an advisory body to the U.S. President and Congress on science and engineering issues, members of the 25-member board establish the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the framework set forth by the president and Congress. The NSF is a major science-funding agency with an annual budget of $7.2 billion (FY 2014) and the goal of promoting the administration’s agenda for national health, welfare; and national defense.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to help our nation be in the vanguard of global competitiveness through the rapid advancement of science, technology, entrepreneurship and innovation,” Panchanathan said. “It is truly an honor to serve our nation in this capacity.”
NSB members are appointed for six-year terms.
In addition to his work with OKED, Panchanathan is a professor in ASU’s School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering. He is also director of the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing (CUbiC).
Panchanathan was recently named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He led a team that received two Microsoft Imagine Cup awards, and he has been chosen for the Governor’s Innovator of the Year for Academia award and the ASU Leadership Award.