This week with NSF Director Panchanathan
From testifying in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing to celebrating new graduates entering the STEM enterprise, this week NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan reinforced the significance of the agency's ongoing commitment to promote the progress of science, advance national prosperity and secure national defense.
The House Artificial Intelligence Caucus and Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus welcomed NSF to Capitol Hill, co-hosting the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot demo day. Panchanathan, alongside House AI Caucus co-chair Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), gave remarks underscoring the existing possibilities and the potential for even greater advancements through the fully realized NAIRR. NSF is proud to lead this effort in collaboration with its federal agency and industry partners. Other Members of Congress in attendance were Reps. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Jim Baird (R-IN) and Sean Casten (D-IL).
The director, accompanied by National Aeronautics and Space Administration Administrator Bill Nelson, testified at the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on the Fiscal Year 2025 budget requests for NSF and NASA. The president's budget request of $10.18 billion is an essential investment in critical areas of research, education, discovery and innovation. NSF continues to build on the "CHIPS and Science Act of 2022" and more through supporting our economic and national security, and foster opportunities everywhere so that innovation can happen everywhere.
Panchanathan also delivered the keynote address at the University of Maryland Baltimore County graduation ceremony, celebrating the 2024 graduating undergraduate classes of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, College of Engineering and Information Technology and the Individualized Study Program. The director framed his remarks around his "10 C's to success," urging the graduating class to commit themselves to find ways to make an impact on their lives, their communities and society.