Aug. 5, 2011

The U.S. Senate has voted to confirm University of Colorado Boulder Distinguished Professor Carl Lineberger as a member of the National Science Board. He was nominated for the position by President Barack Obama in April.

The National Science Board’s duties include establishing the policies of the National Science Foundation and serving as an advisory board to the president and Congress on issues involving science and engineering.

Lineberger also is a fellow of JILA, a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

In addition to Lineberger, the U.S. Senate this week also confirmed Dan Arvizu, chief executive of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. Both of their terms expire in 2016.

“Colorado is home to some of the best and the brightest in the country, supporting and inspiring top-notch scientific work across Colorado and the country,” U.S. Sen. Mark Udall said in a statement. “Carl has contributed decades of pioneering research to the fields of physics and chemistry, and Dan has played a key role in Colorado’s leadership in renewable energy. I am proud these two eminent thinkers have been recognized and entrusted with helping shape the course of science and engineering fields in our country.”

Lineberger is the E.U. Condon Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at CU-Boulder. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and currently serves on the Report Review Committee of the National Research Council and the NRC Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space. His graduate students and postdoctoral associates hold major research-related positions throughout the world.

Lineberger has chaired the National Science Foundation Advisory Committees on Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Science and Technology Centers, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee, and the NAS/NRC Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Applications. He recently completed service on the National Academy of Sciences Council, the NAS/NRC Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy and the NRC Governing Board.

“It is truly an honor for us when our nation’s leadership taps the knowledge and expertise of CU-Boulder faculty to serve our country and society,” said CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. “Distinguished Professor Lineberger is the third faculty member in three years to receive a prestigious White House appointment, which underscores our national reach in scientific research and public policy.”

Last September, CU-Boulder Distinguished Professor and JILA Fellow Carl Wieman was confirmed as associate director for science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and former CU-Boulder Chancellor G.P. “Bud” Peterson in September 2008 was nominated by President George W. Bush and subsequently appointed to serve on the National Science Board.

For more information about the members of the National Science Board visit http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/members/.