Top U.S. Science Official, Subra Suresh, Steps Down As NSF Director

Subra Suresh, former director of the National Science Foundation, has been named as the next president of Carnegie Mellon University.

AsianScientist (Feb. 11, 2013) – Subra Suresh, former director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), has succeeded Dr. Jared L. Cohon as the next president of Carnegie Mellon University.

Since his 2010 nomination by U.S. President Barack Obama and appointment to the position of NSF director, Dr. Suresh has led the US$7 billion independent government science agency charged with advancing all fields of fundamental science, engineering research, and education.

“We have been very fortunate to have Subra Suresh guiding the National Science Foundation for the last two years,” said President Obama.

Prior to the NSF appointment, Dr. Suresh was dean of the School of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 2007 to 2010. He is currently on leave as the Vannevar Bush Professor of Engineering at MIT while serving as director of NSF.

In his leadership roles at MIT, Dr. Suresh helped to establish the MIT Transportation Initiative and the Center for Computational Engineering; led MIT’s efforts in establishing the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Center; and oversaw the recruitment of a record number of women faculty in engineering.

“I am truly honored to have the opportunity to lead Carnegie Mellon University as its ninth president,” said Dr. Suresh, who will assume office on July 1. “The extraordinary ability of the CMU faculty and students in bringing together cutting-edge research and education across multiple disciplines positions CMU uniquely to address national and global challenges. I look forward to working with the CMU community to further our global impact.”

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Source: CMU.
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