The three I's to impactful change, according to NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, are innovation, inclusion and international collaboration - and finding opportunities to advance impactful change continued to be the focus this week for the director.
On Wednesday, March 1, Director Panchanathan joined White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar at a public engagement event hosted by SeedAI in participation with the National AI Research Resource, or NAIRR, Task Force. During a lively armchair conversation, the two discussed how NAIRR Task Force is working to strengthen and democratize the nation's artificial intelligence innovation ecosystem. Driving scientific discovery, spurring innovations, and advancing trustworthy AI through research can catalyze solutions to positively impact science, the economy, national security and society.
On Thursday, the director welcomed delegates from NSF's Canadian partners from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, National Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Fonds de recherche du Québec to celebrate the successful launches of two multilateral funding opportunities focused on convergent, interdisciplinary research collaborations that address climate change demands: NSF's Global Centers program and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council's International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Competition.
NSF's Global Centers program - in partnership with funding agencies in Australia, Canada and the U.K. -supports innovative, collaborative international centers that are broadening participation an developing use-inspired research on #ClimateChange & clean energy. While the International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Competition - funded in part by NSF - leverages international expertise to tackle global challenges caused by climate change.
The director ended the week on Friday by joining Japan Science and Technology Agency President Kazuhito Hashimoto and the Council on Competitiveness President and CEO Deborah L. Wince-Smith at the AAAS Annual Meeting for a panel on "Just System Transitions in Response to Crises." During the conference, he emphasized how international collaboration is essential in addressing global challenges, building resilience to protect our social and economic systems, and broadening participation to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive #STEM enterprise capable of translating research into real-world solutions.
