The Deputy Inspector General participates with the Inspector General in providing leadership and direction to activities and staff of the Office of Inspector General (OIG), and reports directly to the Inspector General. The OIG recommends policies to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in administering NSF programs and operations. It also aims to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse: to improve the integrity of NSF programs and operations, and to investigate cases involving misconduct in science.

Tim Cross assumed his duties as Deputy Inspector General of the National Science Foundation on December 3, 2000. He earned an M.B.A from Stanford University (1977), an M.A. in Criminology from the University of California at Berkeley (1972), and a B.A. in Social Sciences with honors from Harvard University (1970).

Cross has over 15 years of experience in managing policy analysis, program evaluation, and oversight staffs at three Federal agencies. He comes to the NSF OIG from his position of Assistant Inspector General for Inspection and Evaluation at the U.S. Small Business Administration. Prior to that, he was Chief of the Program Coordination Division at Department of State and held a senior position in the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice.

 Jul 02, '04