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Dr. Rita R. Colwell
Director
National Science
Foundation
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Dr. Rita Colwell became the 11th Director of the National
Science Foundation on August 4, 1998.
Since taking office, Dr. Colwell has spearheaded the
agency's emphases in K-12 science and mathematics
education, graduate science and engineering education/training
and the increased participation of women and minorities
in science and engineering.
Her policy approach has enabled the agency to strengthen
its core activities, as well as establish support
for major initiatives, including Nanotechnology, Biocomplexity,
Information Technology, and the 21st Century
Workforce. In her capacity as NSF Director, she serves
as Co-chair of the Committee on Science of the National
Science and Technology Council.
Under her leadership, the Foundation has received significant
budget increases, and its funding recently reached
a level of more than $4.5 billion.
Before coming to NSF, Dr. Colwell was President of
the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute,
1991-1998, and she remains Professor of Microbiology
and Biotechnology (on leave) at the University Maryland.
She was also a member of the National Science Board
(NSF's governing body) from 1984 to 1990.
Dr. Colwell has held many advisory positions in the
U.S. Government, non-profit science policy organizations,
and private foundations, as well as in the international
scientific research community. She is a nationally
respected scientist and educator, and has authored
or co-authored 16 books and more than 600 scientific
publications. She produced the award-winning film,
Invisible Seas, and has served on editorial
boards of numerous scientific journals.
She is the recipient of numerous awards, including
the Medal of Distinction from Columbia University,
the Gold Medal of Charles University, Prague, and
the University of California, Los Angeles, and the
Alumna Summa Laude Dignata from the University of
Washington, Seattle.
Dr. Colwell has also been awarded 18 honorary degrees
from institutions of higher education, including her
Alma Mater, Purdue University. Dr. Colwell is an honorary
member of the microbiological societies of the UK,
France, Israel, Bangladesh, and the U.S. and has held
several honorary professorships, including the University
of Queensland, Australia. A geological site in Antarctica,
Colwell Massif, has been named in recognition of her
work in the polar regions.
Dr. Colwell has previously served as Chairman of the
Board of Governors of the American Academy of Microbiology
and also as President of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, the Washington Academy
of Sciences, the American Society for Microbiology,
the Sigma Xi National Science Honorary Society, and
the International Union of Microbiological Societies.
Dr. Colwell is a member of the National Academy of
Sciences.
Born in Beverly, Massachusetts, Dr. Colwell holds a
B.S. in Bacteriology and an M.S. in Genetics, from
Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from
the University of Washington.
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