Karen Marrongelle

Dr. Karen Marrongelle is the Chief Science Officer of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), where she oversees all science operations of the $9.06B federal agency whose mission includes support for all fields of fundamental science and engineering. Previously, she served as the Assistant Director over NSF’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources (retitled the Directorate for STEM Education or EDU). She led the EDU Directorate in supporting research that enhances learning and teaching to achieve excellence in U.S. science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

Prior to joining NSF, Marrongelle was Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at Portland State University and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, where she oversaw 24 departments and programs across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

In addition to her work as Dean, Marrongelle served as a faculty member in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Portland State University since 2001. Prior to her appointment as Dean, she held positions as the Vice Chancellor for Academic Strategies and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Standards and Collaboration with the Oregon University System.

From 2007–2009, Marrongelle served on a rotation as a program officer at NSF and led numerous grants, collaborating with researchers nationally and internationally to improve undergraduate mathematics education and K-12 mathematics professional development.

Marrongelle has a bachelor's degree in mathematics and philosophy from Albright College, a master's degree in mathematics from Lehigh University, and a doctorate in mathematics education from the University of New Hampshire.<