The director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced today that he is leaving the $7-billion agency to become president of Carnegie Mellon University.
Subra Suresh, an engineer and materials scientist, told NSF staff members that he would be departing at the end of March and taking up his post at the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, institution on 1 July. He will have served less than half of a 6-year term that began in October 2010.
As has become standard practice for Obama appointees, Suresh announced his departure in a lengthy letter that lists his many accomplishments. He has paid particular attention to expanding NSF's international footprint, integrating research and education across the foundation, and encouraging NSF-funded scientists to think harder about the commercial potential of their discoveries. He also promoted an approach, dubbed One NSF, that has tried to prod NSF's seven directorates and various program offices to cooperate in jointly funding proposals that span disciplines and tackle important societal problems.
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