Former COSI CEO Kathryn Sullivan handpicked for President's Council of Advisers on Science & Technology
Although Kathryn Sullivan's days as CEO of the Center of Science and Industry have long ended, her passion for the field hasn't waned.
Along with her continued involvement at the nationally recognized museum, the former NASA astronaut has been tapped by President Joe Biden to join a council filled with the most distinguished leaders in science and technology.
On Wednesday, Biden announced that Sullivan is one of 30 members of the President's Council of Advisors on Science & Technology (PCAST), which is charged with making science, technology and innovation policy recommendations to the president and White House.
“We are thrilled that some of our most accomplished Americans are willing to step up and serve the nation by being members of PCAST,” Frances Arnold, PCAST co-chair said in a written statement. “Their vast expertise will help the nation build back better through science and technology.”
Among the 30 appointees are five MacArthur “Genius” Fellows, two former Cabinet secretaries, two Nobel laureates and 20 elected members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine — which includes Sullivan.
The committee is co-chaired by Arnold, a biochemical engineer at the California Institute of Technology; Eric Lander, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; and Maria Zuber, a professor of geophysicist and planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
According to a press release, PCAST is a direct descendant of the scientific advisory committee established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957 following the launch of the Soviet-launched satellite Sputnik. Sullivan's placement makes Biden's PCAST the most diverse and expansive in the nation's history — with females making up half of the council and people of color and immigrants making up one-third.
Until now, no females have ever been co-chairs.
To combat the challenges faced in the field of science and technology and, in time, make progressive steps forward, Lander said the need for a broader and more diversified perspective was clear.
“President Biden understands that addressing the opportunities and challenges we face — to our health, our planet, our economic prosperity and our national security — will require harnessing the full power of science and technology," Lander said in a written statement.
"Scientific progress depends on people seeing things in new ways, because they bring different lenses, different experiences, different passions, different questions. This PCAST is uniquely prepared because of its extraordinary scientific breadth, wide range of work experiences and unprecedented diversity.”
With Sullivan's involvement, as well as others in the council, Zuber said she looks forward to working with the group and forge their collective minds together.
“I am excited to bring this historic and brilliant group’s knowledge, experience and innovative thinking to bear on the nation’s toughest challenges in science and technology," Zuber said, "and navigate an equitable and inclusive path forward for the nation.”