NSF PR 96-21: NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD ELECTS NEW LEADERS

[gra...@nsf.gov]

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Media contact: May 20,1996
Mary E. Hanson, (703) 306-1070/mha...@nsf.gov NSF PR 96-21

Program contact:
Jean Pomeroy, (703) 306-2000/jpom...@nsf.gov

NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD ELECTS NEW LEADERS

The National Science Board (NSB) has elected a leading chemist
and a president of a major state university to lead the science policy
body for the next two years. The Board elected Stanford University
chemistry professor Richard N. Zare as its chairman, and University of
Texas at El Paso President Diana Natalicio, who is a linguist by
training, as its vice chairman.

The NSB is the governing body of the National Science Foundation,
and is made up of 24 members drawn from industry and universities.
All Board members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the
Senate, and serve six-year terms. Zare joined the Board in 1992, and
Natalicio in 1995.

Zare is renowned for his research in laser chemistry, which has
resulted in a greater understanding of chemical reactions at the
molecular level. He received his B.A. in chemistry and his Ph.D. in
chemical physics, both from Harvard University. Zare taught at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Colorado and
Columbia University before moving in 1977 to Stanford University,
where he holds a named professorship. Among his many honors and
memberships, he currently chairs the Council of the National Academy
of Sciences. He also received the National Medal of Science in 1985.

Natalicio joined the UTEP faculty in 1971 and has served as its
President since 1988. She received her master's in Portuguese and
Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. Her
major research interests have focused on second language acquisition
and bilingualism. Natalicio also serves on the NASA Advisory Council,
the Fogarty International Centor advisory board at NIH and the U.S.
Mexico (Fulbright-Garcia Robles) Commission for Educational and
Cultural Exchange. She was appointed by President Bush to the
Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans
and served as chair of the board of the American Association for
Higher Education.

-NSF-