This week with NSF Director Panchanathan

NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan fielded a packed schedule this week, from welcoming international colleagues to NSF to embarking on a trip to Alaska.

The director's visit to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) coincided with the announcement of a $20 million award to the state of Alaska through the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. This award will enable researchers from UAF, working with the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Alaska Southeast, to conduct community-engaged research and build human capacity in the region through partnerships with diverse groups, including women, Indigenous peoples, farmers and rural community members.

Director Panchanathan also welcomed Embassy of Italy in the US Ambassador Mariangela Zappia and Italy's Minister for University and Research Anna Bernini to NSF headquarters to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between NSF and Italy's Ministry of University and Education. The MOU will work to foster international relations, paving the way for multidisciplinary collaboration. This builds upon an existing agreement between the agencies focused on collaborative research in artificial intelligence designed to address the barriers to conducting research with international collaborators.