CCST Board Member To Advise Stanford University on Federal Research Policy

CCST Board Member Arthur Bienenstock has stepped down from his post as vice provost and dean of research at Stanford University to assume the newly created position of special assistant to the president for federal research policy.

The newly created position of special assistant will allow Bienenstock to further his work on science and national security. Although the parameters of the position are still being defined, Bienenstock plans to work with other research universities and the national government on federal research policies.

“The role is particularly important, as there are tensions between the U.S. moving ahead in science and technology, and maintaining national security,” he said. “I have spent a lot of my time on that.”

A professor of materials science and engineering, as well as applied physics, and a former director of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL), Bienenstock also brings extensive experience in working with the federal government to his new position.

Bienenstock was the associate director for science of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 1997 through 2001. In his government role, Bienenstock became one of the leading advisors in science for the United States, and was a strong advocate for federal research funding, providing guidance on complex scientific and policy issues. In addition, he is currently serving as vice president of the American Physical Society, where he has focused on federal funding for research in the physical sciences and engineering (with some emphasis on energy research) and the maintenance of openness in research during a security-conscious era. He has been a CCST Board member since 2004.

Associate dean of research Ann Arvin, chief of the infectious diseases division of the Pediatrics Department and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, has succeeded Bienenstock as vice provost and dean of research.

“I am delighted that Ann Arvin has agreed to take on this critical responsibility and that Artie Bienenstock will continue to advise on vital matters of federal research policy,” said Stanford President John Hennessy. “The university is extremely fortunate to draw on two people who have such a broad understanding of the issues and a deep reservoir of practical experience in these areas.”