OTA Director Nominated to be Clinton’s Science Advisor
On December 24, President-elect Clinton nominated John H. “Jack” Gibbons to be Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Gibbons has served as Director of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), a bipartisan research arm of the US Congress, for over a decade.
In nominating Gibbons, Clinton said, “I am delighted to appoint a brilliant scientist and gifted administrator. . . It is profoundly important that the President have a science advisor who understands science, who understands technology, who understands the practical application of these disciplines to the myriad of problems we face today. And I can tell you that from [Vice President-elect] Al Gore on down to every other member of Congress I have discussed John Gibbons with, I have hardly ever received more glowing and more consistent recommendations for anyone.”
As he accepted the nomination, Gibbons stressed his support for basic research. He stated that “our security and prosperity depend as never before on the sustained support of science and the thoughtful use of technology. . . We place a very great weight on the intrinsic value of basic research out of which has flowed extraordinary and often unanticipated benefits to society, including enormous enrichment of the human spirit.”
Gibbons has throughout his career shown an interest in science policy issues, particularly those involving energy policy and conservation. After receiving his B.S. in math and chemistry from Randolph-Macon and his physics doctorate from Duke, in 1954 he went to work in nuclear geophysics at Oak Ridge National Lab. His work there included research into the origins of heavy elements in the solar system, and nuclear reactions in stellar evolution. During this time he also took sabbaticals to work on civil and ballistic missile defense, and national lab-university relations.
In 1969 he moved to the directorship of the environmental program at Oak Ridge. From 1973-74 he was Director of the Federal Energy Administration’s Office of Energy Conservation, where he headed federal programs in energy conservation R&D, conservation policy analysis and public awareness. In 1974 he became Director of the Energy, Environment, and Resources Center at the University of Tennessee, where he remained until accepting the directorship of OTA in 1979. At OTA he heads a staff of 140, plus 2000 outside experts, who provide analysis to Congress on science and technology issues affecting society.
Among his honors and awards, Gibbons can count the 1991 APS Leo Szilard Award for Physics in the Public Interest, and the 1992 AAAS Abelson Prize for exceptional contributions to advancing science. Gibbons is a fellow of both APS and AAAS.
As Director of OSTP, Gibbons inherits the chairmanship of FCCSET, the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering and Technology. His predecessor, Allan Bromley, is credited with revitalizing the FCCSET process, which encourages coordination and cooperation in science and technology activities across the federal agencies. President Bush used the FCCSET mechanism to launch his five Presidential Initiatives, interagency programs in Global Change, High Performance Computing, Biotechnology, Advanced Materials, and Manufacturing.
Clinton is expected to have a much more aggressive technology policy than did Bush, with Gore as his “technology czar.” It is unknown at this point how responsibilities for science and technology would be divided between Gore and Gibbons, or who would be the main spokesman for science in the Clinton Administration. Some have also questioned whether OSTP will be fully staffed, in light of Clinton’s stated goal of reducing the White House staff by 25 percent. Some clues might surface during Gibbons’ confirmation hearing, to be held by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. So far, the hearing has not been scheduled.
