Sethuraman Panchanathan announced his decision to resign as director of the U.S. National Science Foundation, effective April 24.
In a statement released by NSF Thursday, Panchanathan expressed his gratitude to Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Congress and NSF personnel.
“It has been an honor and privilege to serve as the director of NSF for the last five years,” said Panchanathan. “I believe I have done all I can to advance the critical mission of the agency and feel that it is time for me to pass the baton to new leadership,” he added.
Panchanathan was unanimously confirmed by the Senate as the 15th director of the NSF in June 2020 after President Trump nominated him for the leadership role in December 2019. He continued to serve under President Biden.
Table of Contents
NSF Achievements Under Panchanathan
In an internal email obtained by Nextgov/FCW, the outgoing NSF director highlighted some of the agency’s achievements during his tenure. This includes the deployment of 27 artificial intelligence institutes and the advancement of multiple scientific research discoveries.
“I wish the very best for the agency and will always look proudly at the numerous accomplishments and impact we have had,” added Panchanathan.
Panchanathan’s Career History
Before joining NSF, Panchanathan spent over 27 years at Arizona State University as a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. He held other significant positions at the university, including executive vice president for knowledge enterprise development and chief research and innovation officer. He was also the founder and director of the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing, director of the Institute for Computing and Information Science and Engineering and founder of the School of Computing and Informatics and the Biomedical Informatics Department.
Earlier in his career, Panchanathan co-founded MotionEase and taught at the University of Ottawa as an associate professor for eight years.
Related Articles
The Senate on Saturday voted 59-35 to confirm Sean Cairncross, a former Republican National Committee official, as the next national cyber director. With his confirmation, Cairncross succeeds Harry Coker as head of the White House Office of the National Cyber Director. In this capacity, he will serve as the principal adviser to the U.S. president on cybersecurity strategy and policy in relation to the coordination of information security and data protection; efforts to deter malicious cyber activity; and programs and policies meant to improve the U.S. cybersecurity posture, among others. In February, President Donald Trump nominated Cairncross to the role.
Edward Forst has been nominated by President Donald Trump as the next administrator of the General Services Administration, succeeding Robin Carnahan, who resigned in January after serving for nearly four years. The White House announced the nomination on Sunday. Who Is Edward Forst? Forst is a seasoned executive and investor with vast experience in the global financial services and real estate industries. He most recently served as chairman of London-based private equity firm Lion Capital for three years. He was also the CEO of Cushman & Wakefield from 2013 to 2015. He spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs serving various senior executive
The Senate voted on Thursday 53-44 to confirm Matthew Kozma as the new undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security for intelligence and analysis. In his role, Kozma would manage the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, which detects and addresses domestic and international threats, cyber risks and evolving national security issues, Homeland Security Today reported. He will lead the intelligence efforts to ensure the sharing of threat information between federal, state and local agencies. Find out more about the challenges and opportunities of the agency at the Potomac Officers Club 2025 Homeland Security Summit on November 12. Get insights into