In a whirlwind of activity over the past two weeks, U.S. National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan has been at the forefront of championing a vision of innovation without limits and paving the way for a boundary-free future in scientific discovery.
On Thursday, Oct. 31, the director gave a keynote speech at the “Artificial Intelligence-Bioscience Collaborative International Summit” in Washington, D.C., run by the U.S. Department of State in collaboration with NSF, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Microsoft and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The summit brought together partners and experts in AI and the biological sciences to share strategic opportunities for scientific discoveries and collaborations between these two fields and the potential risks. Panchanathan highlighted the significance of NSF’s investments in accelerating discoveries in AI and bioscience thus far and stressed the importance of fostering international and cross-sector collaborations.
Credit: Brian Stone/NSF
That same day, the director announced the official opening of the NSF Arecibo Center for Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Science Education, Computational Skills and Community Engagement (Arecibo C3 Center) in 2025. The opening will coincide with NSF’s 75th anniversary commemorations, a significant year celebrating decades of advancing scientific discovery and innovation. The NSF Arecibo C3 Center will empower the next generation of researchers and foster community around culturally relevant and inclusive values.
The following week, on Monday, Nov. 4, the Tartan featured the director’s discussion with Carnegie Mellon University students. During the conversation, Panchanathan stressed the gravity of investing in universities to cultivate environments of success, inspiration and innovation, specifically for the future of artificial intelligence.
Credit: Amanda Greenwell/NSF
On Thursday, Nov. 7, Panchanathan traveled to Lawrence, Kansas, to join Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) to announce the agency’s $26 million investment in the NSF Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub. The University of Kansas will lead a team of researchers in collaboration with institutions across the country to reduce emissions from refrigerants while increasing the energy efficiency of heating, ventilation and cooling, securing U.S. leadership in workforce development and manufacturing.
On Saturday, Nov. 9, Panchanathan delivered a virtual keynote at the “India-U.S. Higher Education Dialogue” hosted by the Confederation of Indian Private Universities and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. His speech highlighted the significance of U.S.-Indian collaboration in higher education and emphasized the crucial role that scientific research and innovation play in shaping the future of global education.
Credit: Amanda Greenwell/NSF
This Science News article "This week with NSF Director Panchanathan" was originally found on https://beta.nsf.gov/news/releases
