India-born American scientist Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan has been appointed as the Director of National Science Foundation, the premier independent federal body of the United States that supports fundamental research and education in non-medical fields of science and engineering.
He was nominated by US President Donald Trump which was confirmed by the United States Senate.
Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan is an alumnus of Madras University, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc) and Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M).
Dr. Panchanathan obtained his Bachelors in physics from University of Madras in 1981. He went on to complete his Bachelors in Engineering in Electronics and Communication Engineering from IISc in 1984 and followed it with an M.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT-M in 1986.
He taught at the University of Ottawa and moved on to Arizona State University where he currently holds multiple positions apart from being the Chief Research and Innovation Officer.
Earlier, he was appointed by former President Barack Obama as a member of the National Science Board which establishes the policies for NSF.