Theresa Mayer to be appointed to President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
Theresa Mayer (MSECE '89, PhD ECE '93), executive vice president for research and partnerships at Purdue University, will be appointed to the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
The White House announced Tuesday (Jan 28) that President Donald Trump intends to nominate and appoint Mayer and Hussein Tawbi of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to PCAST.
“It is a tremendous honor to be selected to serve on such a vital advisory team,” Mayer said. “Our nation has been the driver of significant advances in science and technology, particularly in artificial intelligence, microelectronics, hypersonics and quantum information science, all areas at which we at Purdue excel. It is incumbent on us to remain a global leader in these areas. I look forward to getting started.”
Mayer is internationally recognized for her research in applications of nanotechnology to electronic and photonic devices and microsystems, and her work in directed assembly of nanoparticles has been used to address a variety of device and manufacturing challenges, ranging from low-power integrated nanosensor circuits to nontraditional patterning processes.
“Dr. Mayer’s expertise as an electrical engineer makes her well-positioned to provide valuable counsel for advancing the nation’s research enterprise,” Purdue President Mitch Daniels said. “Her immediate predecessor at Purdue was chosen just over a year ago for the National Science Board. We are extremely proud that Purdue’s leadership in the scientific community continues to be recognized.”
A Purdue alumna, Mayer returned to the university in August. She had served as vice president for research and innovation and a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Virginia Tech University since 2016. Prior to those positions, Mayer was at Pennsylvania State University for more than 20 years, serving as a distinguished professor of electrical engineering, and associate dean for research and innovation in the College of Engineering. She also had served as site director of the National Science Foundation’s National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network and as director of the Materials Research Institute Nanofabrication Laboratory.
Mayer holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Purdue.
The function of PCAST is to advise the president on matters involving science, technology, education and innovation policy. Its members are leading scientists and engineers. Drumpf reinstituted PCAST in October. Although similar science advisory committees date to 1933 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the first PCAST was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. PCAST will include 16 total members in addition to the Chair of the Council. The first meeting of 2020 will take place on Feb. 3-4.
Current appointed members of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology:
- Catherine Bessant, Chief Technology Officer, Bank of America
- Dr. Shannon Blunt, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, the University of Kansas
- Dr. Dario Gil, Director of Research, IBM Research
- Dr. Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska, Professor of Engineering and Associate Dean, Ohio State University
- Dr. Sharon Hrynkow, Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs, Cyclo Therapeutics
- Dr. H. Fisk Johnson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
- Dr. A.N. Sreeram, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Dow Chemical
- Shane Wall, Chief Technology Officer and Global Head of HP Labs, HP Inc.
- Dr. K. Birgitta Whaley, Director of Quantum Information and Computation Center, University of California, Berkley
Source: Mayer to be appointed to President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology