NSF Board Elects IBM Executive as New Chair
National Science Board Chair Darío Gil (left) and NSB member Wanda Ward at a meeting of the NSB in May 2024.
(NSF)
Last month, the National Science Board elected IBM Research Director Darío Gil as chair, marking the first time in over three decades that the chair is actively working in industry. Gil replaces Dan Reed, a computer science professor at the University of Utah and former Microsoft executive, whose six-year term on the board ended in May.
Prior board chairs who were also industry executives when they were appointed include chemist Mary Good of Allied Signal, physicist Roland Schmitt of GE, and physicist Lewis Branscomb of IBM. Gil has a background in electrical engineering and since 2020 has been a member of the board, which oversees the National Science Foundation and advises the government on science and engineering policy.
The board reelected Victor McCrary, vice president for research at the University of the District of Columbia, to serve a third term as vice chair. There are currently eight open seats on the board, which comprises 24 members appointed directly by the president.
This news brief originally appeared in FYI’s newsletter for the week of June 3.
