This week with NSF Director Panchanathan

This week, NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan traveled to The Hague to join international partners for the Global Research Council's (GRC) annual meeting. The GRC provides a forum for publicly funded research councils worldwide to engage with one another and build the relationships necessary to develop and foster productive international research partnerships. Director Panchanathan met with delegates and heads of publicly funded research institutions from around the world to discuss priorities and best practices on behalf of the global research community.

The meeting facilitated a range of important discussions that led to major consensuses — two endorsed statements of principles — that provide much-anticipated guidance to science and engineering communities around the world. Each document is a key outcome that signifies the continued and unified efforts of the GRC and its members to enhance the research landscape and tackle global challenges through international partnership. Learn more about the meeting.

The director also hosted India's Department of Biotechnology Secretary Rajesh Gokhale at NSF headquarters to explore opportunities for translating biotech innovation into economic and societal benefits for people in both countries. International collaboration enables the global STEM enterprise to react to and tackle both the known and unknown challenges of the future.