Social Scientists, STEM Education Experts to Join National Science Board

On October 15, President Biden announced his intent to appoint the newest class of National Science Board members, which includes sociologist and former White House official Alondra Nelson.

The National Science Board (NSB) is the policy-making body of the National Science Foundation (NSF) that also serves as an independent advisor to the President and Congress on federal science policy. The board consists of 24 members who serve staggered six-year terms and new members are appointed by the President.

Alondra Nelson is a sociologist who served as the first Deputy Director for Science and Society at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in the Biden Administration and was the first social scientist and woman of color to serve as interim OSTP Director. She left OSTP in 2023 and returned academia at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Also appointed to the Board are Joan Ferrini-Mundy and Juan Gilbert. Dr. Ferrini-Mundy in president of the University of Maine and spent over a decade in leadership roles at NSF, including as chief operating officer and Assistant Director of the Education and Human Resources Directorate (EHR), now called the STEM Education Directorate (EDU). She is a leader in science education, particularly in mathematics. Dr. Gilbert chairs the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Department at the University of Florida, where he leads the Computing for Social Good Lab. The lab focuses on Human-Centered Computing, seeking to address real-world social challenges by integrating people, information, culture, policy, and technology.

New Board members are typically sworn in at the May NSB meeting upon the departure of the outgoing class. More on upcoming NSB meeting can be found here.