Rodolfo H. Torres, Ph.D.
Professor of Mathematics and the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development
University of California, Riverside (UCR)
As Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, Rodolfo H. Torres provides broad vision and executive leadership for campus-wide research and scholarly work initiatives and is responsible for inspiring and managing a diverse portfolio of sponsored programs, research compliance, and economic development activities.
Before arriving to UCR in 2019, he was University Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at the University of Kansas (KU) and he is a former Faculty Senate President. At KU he also served in the Office of Research, first as Associate Vice Chancellor and then as Interim Vice Chancellor for Research and President of the Kansas University Center for Research Inc. Torres did his undergraduate studies at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina, received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis, and held postdoctoral positions at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences of New York University and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, before moving to KU.
Torres’ research interests include Fourier analysis and its applications in partial differential equations and signal analysis. Torres has also collaborated with biologists to explain structural coloration phenomena in the tissues of animals, a work that received considerable scientific media attention including articles in The New York Times, Science Magazine, and Discovery Channel on-line. His research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and he has given numerous lectures and taught short courses around the world. He has received several awards for his efforts with students, including a Kemper Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2013 Torres was elected to the inaugural class of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and in 2017 he was featured in the Lathisms Calendar of Latinxs and Hispanics in Mathematical Sciences and the AMS. In 2019 he presented a Congressional Briefing invited by the AMS and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute at Berkeley.
Sudip Parikh, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Publisher
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Sudip Parikh, Ph.D., became the 19th chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and executive publisher of the Science family of journals in January 2020. Parikh has spent two decades at the nexus of science, policy, and business.
Immediately prior to joining AAAS, Parikh was senior vice president and managing director at DIA Global, a neutral, multidisciplinary organization bringing together regulators, industry, academia, patients, and other stakeholders interested in healthcare product development. He led strategy in the Americas and oversaw DIA programs that catalyzed progress globally toward novel regulatory frameworks for advanced therapies not amenable to existing regulations.
Prior to DIA, Sudip was general manager of the Health and Consumer Solutions business unit and vice president at Battelle, a multibillion-dollar research and development organization. He led a $150 million business unit with over 500 scientific, technical, and computing experts performing basic and applied research, developing medicines and healthcare devices, and creating advanced analytics and artificial intelligence applications to improve human health. Previously, Parikh led Battelle’s global AgriFood business unit. Headquartered in London and Geneva, this unit provided environmental fate research and agriculture product development services from laboratories throughout Europe and the United States.
From 2001 to 2009, Parikh served as science advisor and professional staff to the United States Senate Appropriations Committee, where he was responsible for negotiating budgets for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, and other scientific and health agencies. A key legislative liaison to the research and development ecosystem, Parikh was on the frontlines of many science policy issues debated during that time, including embryonic stem cell research, cloning, disease surveillance, bioterrorism, cyber security, and doubling the NIH budget.
An active member of the scientific advocacy community, Parikh serves as a board member and officer for several impactful organizations, including Research!America, Friends of Cancer Research, and ACT for NIH. He has received multiple public service awards, including recognition from the American Association of Immunologists, the National AIDS Alliance, the Coalition for Health Services Research, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Sudip is committed to early STEM education and, as a parent of three energetic young children, he prioritizes volunteering as a mentor for Science Olympiad teams at two elementary schools.
Early in his career, Parikh was a Presidential Management Intern at the NIH. He was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship while earning his Ph.D. in macromolecular structure and chemistry from the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. There, he used structural biology and biochemistry techniques to probe the mechanisms of DNA repair enzymes bound to DNA. The son of Indian immigrants who worked in the textile and furniture manufacturing plants of North Carolina, Parikh completed undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, first as a journalism major before switching into materials science.
Matt Hourihan
Director R&D Budget and Policy Program
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Hourihan is the director of the R&D Budget and Policy Program for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), where he is a regular source of information and insight on past, present, and future science budgets for policymakers and the science community. He is a frequent speaker on these topics before academic, industry, government, and international audiences, and his analyses have been featured in major media including the Wall Street Journal, Nature, The Atlantic, Forbes, The Hill, Politico, Scientific American, Eos, Vox, Bloomberg, and elsewhere. He has served in his current position since 2011.
Prior to joining AAAS, he served as a clean energy policy analyst at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF). While at ITIF, he tracked federal energy R&D investments and innovation activities, and authored several white papers and policy briefs exploring the role of innovation in solving the nation’s energy and climate challenges. Previously, he served as Jan Schori Fellow at the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, a coalition of energy firms and utilities working to engage policymakers for market-based solutions to sustainable energy development and climate change.
As a student, he interned with the AAAS Center for Science, Technology and Congress, now the Office of Government Relations. He earned a masters degree in public policy with a focus on science and technology policy at George Mason University, and a B.A. in journalism from Ithaca College.
Kathleen “Taffy” Kingscott
Vice President Strategic Partnerships
IBM Research
Kathleen Kingscott is Vice President, Strategic Partnerships for IBM Research. She is responsible for developing collaborative research partnerships between IBM, industry, academia and government. Ms. Kingscott is IBM’s alternate member of the Semiconductor Industry Association Board of Directors and chairs the CTO Work Group of the SIA. She is a member of the Board of Managers of the American Institute of Physics Publishing and is chair of the Compensation Committee for the AIPP Board. She is a founder and served as co-chair of the Task Force on American Innovation, a coalition of 60+ companies, university and trade associations, and professional societies that supports federal investment in scientific research.
Previously, Kathleen held the IBM Industry Chair at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, as the first faculty member from industry to join the faculty of the college. While at ICAF her students won the Antonelli Award for the best industry study and the Commandant’s Award for Outstanding Research in Support of the Director, DDRE.
Earlier roles include Director, Worldwide Innovation Policy for the IBM Corporation, responsible for worldwide public policy matters regarding innovation, science and technology. Her global team provided political and legislative support on innovation policy matters ranging from fundamental and applied multidisciplinary research to semiconductor and supercomputing technology policy. She also focused on innovation-based regional economic growth.
Ms. Kingscott led IBM’s participation in the U.S. National Innovation Initiative and separately led IBM’s policy work in developing the Trusted Foundry, a partnership between IBM and DOD to develop specialized semiconductors for defense applications. Prior positions include a number of public policy, Congressional relations, and information technology marketing management positions in IBM. She has also served in numerous industry and association leadership roles, including as a member of the Executive Committee of the Electronics Division of the National Defense Industrial Association, a member of the Secretary of Commerce’s Manufacturing Council 2015-2016 and a member of the Innovation Policy Forum of the National Academy of Sciences.
Ms. Kingscott has been a guest professor at Thunderbird University and Princeton University. She has been with IBM 48 years.
Rob Blair
Senior Director, 5G and External Affairs
Microsoft
Robert Blair is Senior Director for 5G and External Affairs for Microsoft Corporation, where he works with partners to develop and achieve Microsoft’s policies on 5G and other advanced technologies.
Before joining Microsoft, Mr. Blair served in the federal executive and legislative branches for more than two decades. Most recently he was the Director of Policy and Strategic Planning at the Department of Commerce, where he led policy development and execution, including initiatives for advanced technology, telecommunications and national security.
Mr. Blair previously was the United States Special Representative for International Telecommunications Policy and Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the White House. Before the White House, Mr. Blair was the Associate Director for Defense Programs at the Office of Management and Budget, overseeing $1.3 trillion of defense, veterans, development and foreign policy programs. Mr. Blair served 14 years on the staff of the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives, leading two subcommittees as staff director, and began his service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Central African Republic.
Mr. Blair is a graduate of Cornell University, Tufts University, and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He has received the Meritorious and Superior Honor Awards from the Department of State, and the Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service from the Department of the Army.
Mark Peters, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President for National Laboratory Management and Operations
Battelle Memorial Institute
Mark Peters is the Executive Vice President for National Laboratory Management and Operations at Battelle Memorial Institute with responsibilities for governance and oversight of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security national laboratories for which Battelle has a significant lab management role. Previously, he was the director of Idaho National Laboratory and president of Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC. He was responsible for management and integration of a large, multipurpose laboratory whose mission focuses on nuclear energy, national and homeland security, and energy and environmental science and technology. He managed this national laboratory of approximately 5,000 staff in multiple nuclear and nonnuclear experimental facilities, with an annual budget of over $1.4 billion.
He served two years as chairman of the National Laboratory Directors’ Council, an independent body that coordinates initiatives and advises the DOE and other national laboratory stakeholders. Prior to joining Battelle, he served as the associate laboratory director for Energy and Global Security at Argonne National Laboratory. Dr. Peters serves as a senior adviser on nuclear energy technologies, research and development programs, and nuclear waste policy. As an expert in nuclear fuel cycle technologies and nuclear waste management, he is called upon to provide expert testimony to Congress and to advise in formulation of policies for nuclear fuel cycles, nonproliferation, and nuclear waste disposal.
In recognition of his distinguished contributions to engineering, in 2021, Dr. Peters was elected as a member of The National Academy of Engineering (NAE), for leadership and contributions in advancing U.S. nuclear energy capabilities and infrastructure. He was honored as a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) in 2015, for outstanding accomplishments in the area of nuclear science and technology. He served on the ANS Public Policy Committee and the executive committee of the ANS Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Division.
Dr. Peters also serves on several boards and advisory committees, including the Idaho Power Board from 2021 to present.
He received his doctorate in geophysical sciences from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in geology from Auburn University. He has received extensive management and leadership education and training, including completion of the Strategic Laboratory Leadership Program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Karen Saxe, Ph.D.
Associate Executive Director
American Mathematical Society
Karen Saxe is Associate Executive Director of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and Director of Government Relations. She represents the 30,000 members of the AMS in science policy discussions at the federal level ensuring that legislation and Executive Branch policies support mathematics research, mathematicians and our students. Saxe is Professor Emerita of Mathematics at Macalester College where she taught for over 25 years. She served as Chair of the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science for over six years, and is the recipient of the 2007 Distinguished Teaching Award of the North Central Section of the Mathematics Association of American (MAA).
Over her career, Saxe has served in various roles in the math community. She has served as Vice President of the MAA, and as an AMS/AAAS Science and Technology Policy Congressional Fellow in the Senate.
Saxe received her Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. Her primary mathematical interests are spectral theory of linear operators on Banach spaces, electoral system design and voting theory, the history of mathematics, and mathematics education. She is considered an expert on congressional redistricting. She is the author of a textbook on functional analysis and her writings on redistricting include articles in The Conversation and PBS News Weekend.
