National Science Board Elects Leaders

The National Science Board (NSB) has elected a leading atmospheric scientist as its new chair, and the president of a major state university as its returning vice chair. At its May meeting, the Board elected National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) executive Warren Washington to serve as chair, and University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) President Diana Natalicio to serve as vice chair.

The NSB is the policy body of the National Science Foundation, and is made up of 24 top representatives from industry and academia. Members are appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate and serve six-year terms. The chair and vice chair are elected from among board members, for two-year terms in those positions. Washington joined the board in 1994. Natalicio joined the board in 1995, and served as vice chair from 1996 through 2000.

Washington is head of the Climate Change Research Section in the Climate and Global Dynamics Division at NCAR, located in Boulder, Colo. He joined NCAR in 1963. He received a master's degree in meteorology from Oregon State University and a Ph.D. in meteorology from Pennsylvania State. He serves on the Secretary of Energy's Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee and is a member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency Science Advisory Board. He is also a member of the Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee established by the U.S. Secretary of Energy.

Natalicio joined the UTEP faculty in 1971 and has served as its President since 1988. She received a master's degree in Portuguese and a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. Her major research interests have focused on second language acquisition and bilingualism. She is a member of the Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities and the U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Science, Board of Governors.

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