U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has named MIT President Charles M. Vest to head the Task Force on the Future of Science Programs at the Department of Energy.
The high-level task force will examine science and technology programs across the department and consider future priorities for scientific research.
"I am grateful that Chuck Vest has agreed to chair this important task force," Secretary Abraham said. "I want to ensure that the Department of Energy remains on the frontier of research as we address our evolving missions in the future."
The task force will present its final report next summer to the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, the highest external advisory board in the Department of Energy.
Dr. Vest also serves on the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) and is vice chair of the Council on Competitiveness. He is the former chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Advisory Committee on the Redesign of the Space Station and former chairman of the Association of American Universities.
Other members of the task force include:
- John Baldeschwieler, Johnson Professor and Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry, California Institute of Technology
- Alfred Berkeley III, vice chairman, NASDAQ
- Robert Birgeneau, president, University of Toronto
- James Duderstadt, president emeritus, University of Michigan
- MRC Greenwood, chancellor, University of California at Santa Cruz
- Ray Irani, chairman, Occidental Petroleum
- Steve Koonin, provost, California Institute of Technology
- Leon Lederman, director emeritus, Illinois Math and Science Academy
- William Martin, chairman, Washington Policy and Analysis Inc.
- M. Peter McPherson, president, Michigan State University and chairman, Secretary of Energy Advisory Board
- Steve Papermaster, chairman, Powershift Ventures
- Deborah Wince-Smith, president, Council on Competitiveness
