This week, U.S. National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan underscored the importance of investing in innovative science and engineering research that will shape international collaboration, next-generation technology and the STEM workforce and jobs of the future.
Panchanathan welcomed Saudi Arabia's Minister of Communications & Information Technology H.E. Abdullah Alswaha, along with other delegates from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia, to NSF headquarters. Their conversation focused on advancing collaboration to accelerate discovery through the power of the global STEM enterprise. 
At the last National Science Board meeting of the year, the director highlighted the work being done to strengthen and expand current initiatives and launch new programs and partnerships, all aimed at achieving NSF's three major priorities: strengthening established NSF programs, inspiring the "missing millions," and accelerating technology and innovation.
Panchanathan also gave opening remarks as part of a Catalyzing Across Sectors to Advance the Bioeconomy (CASA-Bio) event. CASA-Bio was initiated by NSF in response to the Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy,whichcalled for innovative solutions in health, food and agriculture, climate and energy, supply chain resilience, and other crosscutting scientific advancements.
The CASA-Bio initiative aims to foster collaboration among federal agencies, industry and nonprofit organizations by forming strategic partnerships to tackle the critical challenges of the bioeconomy. The conversations that occurred during the event helped identify potential synergistic priorities among the partnering organizations and highlighted areas for research and development.
