VCU news

By Brian McNeill

Sethuraman Panchanathan, Ph.D., director of the National Science Foundation, will visit Virginia Commonwealth University on Monday, Feb. 6, to hear how VCU is advancing NSF-supported scientific discovery, innovation and education.

Panchanathan will be joined by U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine and U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, as well as VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D.; VCU Provost Fotis Sotiropoulos, Ph.D.; VCU Vice President for Research and Innovation P. Srirama Rao, Ph.D.; and other senior VCU leaders.

In December, the NSF’s Higher Education Research and Development fiscal year 2021 survey ranked VCU among the top 50 public research universities in the U.S. based on research expenditures.

As part of their visit, Panchanathan and the elected officials will tour VCU’s Virginia Microelectronics Center and Nanomaterials Core Characterization Facility; visit a Franklin Military Academy classroom taught by a science teacher who graduated from VCU’s RTR teacher residency program and whose current resident is an NSF Noyce scholar; and participate in a roundtable discussion with VCU leadership, NSF-funded faculty and students on the need for greater diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM.

At VCU, the NSF director will view demos and talk to researchers developing innovations related to semiconductors and training the next generation of STEM workforce. He will highlight the importance of research and development to ensure the nation’s continued economic competitiveness.

The news media is invited to accompany Panchanathan and the elected officials on the tour of VCU’s Virginia Microelectronics Center and Nanomaterials Core Characterization Facility from 11:35 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. A media availability will be held immediately following the tour.

Reporters interested in attending may RSVP by contacting bwmcneill@vcu.edu.