Thursday, January 22, 2015
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Elects Dr. Francine Berman to Board of TrusteesThe Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announces the election of Dr. Francine Berman to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Berman is the Edward P. Hamilton Distinguished Professor in Computer Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. She is the Chair of the U.S. branch of the Research Data Alliance, a community-driven, international consortium working to accelerate research data-sharing and exchange. Dr. Berman is also Chair of the Board at the Anita Borg Institute and co-Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate at the National Science Foundation.
“In addition to being a cutting edge computer and data scientist, Fran Berman has spent decades leading successful government and university initiatives to foster innovation in how we use technology,” says Sandra O. Moose, Chair of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Board of Trustees. “I can think of no one better positioned to help guide the Sloan Foundation in its mission to accelerate breakthroughs in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics.”
Dr. Berman’s career has been shaped by an early recognition of the potential for information technology to radically transform and accelerate scientific research and of the pressing need for investments in digital information and computing infrastructure. As Director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center from 2001 to 2009 she led an interdisciplinary staff of more than 250 scientists, engineers, and technologists in the execution of an ambitious, coordinated research and infrastructure agenda. She has served in numerous government and non-governmental technology initiatives, including the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Working Group of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the National Academies Board on Research Data and Information, the National Science Foundation’s Advisory Committee for the Directorate of Computer and Information Science and Engineering, and the Advisory Committee of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health. From 2009 to 2012, she served as the Vice President for Research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Dr. Berman received a B.A. in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Washington.
“It is an exciting opportunity to serve on the board of a foundation that has been a leader in recognizing key areas for innovation and promoting pioneering work within the research community,” says Dr. Berman. “I am honored to join the Sloan Foundation’s Board of Trustees and look forward to contributing to its long trajectory of support for science and scientists.”
Dr. Berman was elected to the Board on December 16, 2014. Her term began January 1, 2015.