decorative nodes

 

 

 

The Vision for American Science & Technology (VAST) will chart the way for the U.S. science & technology (S&T) enterprise to support America’s global leadership. Drawing from the collective insights and experiences of an unprecedented array of leaders in modern history, VAST will empower U.S. decisionmakers with a roadmap to ensure the American S&T enterprise remains the vanguard on an increasingly competitive world stage. VAST’s work is supported by the Simons Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Rita Allen Foundation, and the Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group.

 

VAST Task Force

Sudip Parikh, PhD, Chair CEO, American Association for the Advancement of Science and Executive Publisher, Science Journals

Noubar Afeyan, PhD, Founder and CEO, Flagship Pioneering

John Anderson, PhD, President, National Academy of Engineering

Joseph Aoun, PhD, President, Northeastern University

Valerie Sheares Ashby, PhD, President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Gilda Barabino, PhD, President, Olin College of Engineering

Muyinatu Bell, PhD, Associate Professor, The Johns Hopkins University

Georges Benjamin, MD, CEO, American Public Health Association

Robert Conn, PhD, Distinguished Professor and Dean of Engineering, Emeritus, University of California, San Diego

France Córdova, PhD, President, Science Philanthropy Alliance; Former Director, National Science Foundation (2014-20)

Michael Crow, PhD, President, Arizona State University

John Crowley, President & CEO, Biotechnology Industry Organization

Ron Daniels, JD, President, The Johns Hopkins University

Hon. Tom Daschle, CEO, The Daschle Group; U.S. Senator (D-SD, 1987-2005; Senate Democratic Leader, 1995-2005); U.S. Representative (D- SD, 1979-87)

Sean Decatur, PhD, President, American Museum of Natural History

Jennifer Doudna, PhD, Professor, University of California, Berkeley; Founder, Innovative Genomics Institute; Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2020)

Kelvin Droegemeier, PhD, Professor and Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Science Policy, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Former Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (2019-21)

Monica Dus, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Michigan

Victor Dzau, MD, President, National Academy of Medicine

Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD, Professor, Duke University Medical Center

Hon. Sue Ellspermann, PhD, President, Ivy Tech Community College; Lieutenant Governor of Indiana (2013-16)

Arthur Evans, PhD, CEO, American Psychological Association

Robert Fofrich, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Los Angeles; Council Member, National Postdoctoral Association

Cynthia Friend, PhD, President and CEO, The Kavli Foundation; Professor Emerita, Harvard University

S. James Gates, Jr., PhD, Clark Leadership Chair in Science, University of Maryland, College Park

Darío Gil, PhD, Senior Vice President and Director, IBM Research; Chair, National Science Board

Hon. Bart Gordon, JD, Partner, K&L Gates; U.S. Representative (D-TN, 1985-2011); Chair, House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (2007-10)

Kathleen Hall Jamieson, PhD, Professor and Director, Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania

Margaret Hamburg, MD, President, InterAcademy Partnership; Former Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (2009-15)

Hon. Roger Hanshaw, PhD, JD, Speaker, West Virginia House of Delegates; Partner, Bowles Rice LLP

Kristina Johnson, PhD, CEO, Johnson Energy Holdings; President Emerita, The Ohio State University

Jenelle Krishnamoorthy, PhD, Vice President and Head, Global Public Policy, Merck & Co.

Samarth Kulkarni, PhD, CEO, CRISPR Therapeutics

Neal Lane, PhD, Senior Fellow, Science and Technology, Baker Institute for Public Policy, and Professor Emeritus, Rice University; Former Director, National Science Foundation (1993-98) and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (1998-2001)

Alan Leshner, PhD, CEO Emeritus, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Bruce Lewenstein, PhD, Professor, Cornell University

General Lester Lyles, United States Air Force (Ret.)

Theresa Maldonado, PhD, PE Vice President for Research & Innovation, University of California Office of the President

Mary Maxon, PhD, Executive Vice President, Carnegie Institution for Science

Willie E. May, PhD, Vice President for Research, Morgan State University; Member, National Science Board; Former Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards & Technology and Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology (2015-17)

Alison McCarthy, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory; Council Member, National Postdoctoral Association

Marcia McNutt, PhD, President, National Academy of Sciences; Former Director, U.S. Geological Survey (2010-13)

Juan Meza, PhD, Associate Director, Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute; Professor, University of California, Merced

Marie Lynn Miranda, PhD, Chancellor, University of Illinois Chicago

Michael Moloney, PhD, CEO, American Institute of Physics

Wendy Naus, Executive Director, Consortium of Social Science Associations

Christopher Nomura, PhD, Vice President for Research & Economic Development, University of Idaho

Bill Novelli, Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business

Stephen Pruitt, PhD, President, Southern Regional Education Board

Stephen Quake, PhD, Head of Science, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and President, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network; Professor, Stanford University

John Reed, MD, PhD, Executive Vice President, Innovative Medicine R&D, Johnson & Johnson

Euan Robertson, Chief Operating Officer, Simons Foundation

Katalina Salas, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow and Assistant Research Professor, University of Texas at El Paso

Jayshree Seth, PhD, Chief Science Advocate and Corporate Scientist, 3M

Hon. Donna Shalala, PhD, President Emerita, University of Miami; U.S. Representative (D-FL, 2019-21); Secretary of Health and Human Services (1993-2001)

Alison Sheets-Singer, PhD, Principal Researcher, Nike

Erika Shugart, PhD, CEO, National Science Teaching Association

David Siegel, PhD, Chair, Siegel Family Endowment; Co-Founder, Two Sigma

David Skorton, MD, President & CEO, Association of American Medical Colleges

Barbara Snyder, JD, President, Association of American Universities

David Spergel, PhD, President, Simons Foundation

Bonnielin Swenor, PhD, MPH Professor and Director, Disability Health Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing

Antonia Villarruel, PhD, RN Dean, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

Lisa Wagar, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of California, Irvine

Hon. Heather Wilson, PhD, President, The University of Texas at El Paso; Member, National Science Board; Secretary of the Air Force (2017-19); U.S. Representative (R-NM, 1998-2009)

Mary Woolley, President & CEO, Research!America

Catherine Woteki, PhD, Professor, Iowa State University; Member, President’s Council on Advisors for Science & Technology; Former Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research (2010-17)

Keith Yamamoto, PhD, Vice Chancellor, Science Policy and Strategy; Director, Precision Medicine; and Professor, University of California, San Francisco

Elias Zerhouni, MD, President and Vice Chairman, OPKO Health; Former Director, National Institutes of Health (2002-08)

Hon. Andrew Zwicker, PhD, New Jersey State Senator; Head, Strategic Partnerships & Public Engagement, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

Andrew Black, JD, Executive Director, Chief Public Affairs Officer and Chief of Staff, American Association for the Advancement of Science

The Science & Technology Action Committee (STAC) is a group of 25 non-profit, academic, foundation, and corporate leaders working to dramatically strengthen U.S. science and technology. The Committee is co-chaired by: Bill Novelli, Professor Emeritus and founder of Business for Impact at Georgetown University and former CEO of AARP, Sudip Parikh, CEO, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Executive Publisher of the Science Family of Journals, Mary Woolley, President & CEO of Research!America, and Keith Yamamoto, Vice Chancellor for Science Policy and Strategy at UCSF and Immediate Past President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).