CONTRIBUTORS
The work of VAST was made possible by grants to the Science & Technology Action Committee (STAC), which is housed at the non-profit, non-partisan Research!America.
Thank you to the following foundations for their generous financial support:
This document is the product of contributions from more than 70 VAST Task Force members who participated in dozens of discussions about opportunities and challenges facing American science and technology and what is most needed to strengthen the American science and technology enterprise from September 2024 through February 2025. All Task Force members were invited to participate in the review and revision of this document as it took shape, and to formally sign onto it upon its completion.
Our Task Force Members* include the following individuals:
Sudip Parikh, PhD, Chair
CEO, American Association for the Advancement of Science and Executive Publisher, Science Journals
Chief Public Affairs Officer and Chief of Staff, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Andrew Black, JD, Executive Director
Noubar Afeyan, PhD
Founder and CEO, Flagship Pioneering
John Anderson, PhD
President, National Academy of Engineering
President, Northeastern University
Joseph Aoun, PhD
Valerie Sheares Ashby, PhD
President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Gilda Barabino, PhD
President, Olin College of Engineering
Muyinatu Bell, PhD
Associate Professor, The Johns Hopkins University
Georges C. Benjamin, MD
Executive Director, American Public Health Association
Barbara A. Bichelmeyer, PhD
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, University of Kansas
Robert Conn, PhD
Distinguished Professor and Dean of Engineering, Emeritus, University of California, San Diego
President, Science Philanthropy Alliance; Former Director, National Science Foundation (2014-20)
France Córdova, PhD
President, Arizona State University
Michael Crow, PhD
John Crowley, JD, MBA
President & CEO, Biotechnology Innovation Organization
President, The Johns Hopkins University
Ron Daniels, JD
Hon. Tom Daschle
CEO, The Daschle Group; U.S. Senator (D-SD, 1987-2005; Senate Democratic Leader, 1995-2005); U.S. Representative (D-SD, 1979-87)
President, American Museum of Natural History
Sean Decatur, PhD
Professor, University of California, Berkeley; Founder, Innovative Genomics Institute; Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2020)
Jennifer Doudna, PhD
Kelvin Droegemeier, PhD
Professor and Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Science Policy, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Former Science Advisor to the President and Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (2019-21)
Director, Office of National Laboratories and Associate Professor, University of Michigan
Monica Dus, PhD
Victor Dzau, MD
President, National Academy of Medicine
Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD
Professor, Duke University Medical Center
President, Ivy Tech Community College; Lieutenant Governor of Indiana (2013-16)
Hon. Sue Ellspermann, PhD
Robert Fofrich, PhD
Arthur Evans, PhD
CEO, American Psychological Association
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Los Angeles; Council Member, National Postdoctoral Association
Cynthia Friend, PhD
President & CEO, The Kavli Foundation; Professor Emerita, Harvard University
Clark Leadership Chair in Science, University of Maryland, College Park
S. James Gates, Jr., PhD
Senior Vice President and Director, IBM Research; Chair, National Science Board. Contributions to this document were made prior to Dr. Gil’s nomination to serve as undersecretary for science and innovation at the Department of Energy.
Darío Gil, PhD
Partner, K&L Gates; U.S. Representative (D-TN, 1985-2011); Chair, House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (2007-10)
Hon. Bart Gordon, JD
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, PhD
Professor and Director, Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania
Margaret Hamburg, MD
President, InterAcademy Partnership; Former Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (2009-15)
Hon. Roger Hanshaw, PhD, JD
Speaker, West Virginia House of Delegates (R); Partner, Bowles Rice LLP
Kristina Johnson, PhD
CEO, Johnson Energy Holdings; President Emerita, The Ohio State University
Vice President and Head, Global Public Policy, Merck & Co.
Jenelle Krishnamoorthy, PhD
Samarth Kulkarni, PhD
CEO, CRISPR Therapeutics
Neal Lane, PhD
Senior Fellow, Science and Technology, Baker Institute for Public Policy, and Professor Emeritus, Rice University; Former Director, National Science Foundation (1993-98) and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (1998-2001)
Alan Leshner, PhD
CEO Emeritus, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Professor, Cornell University
Bruce Lewenstein, PhD
Gen. Lester Lyles
U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
Theresa Maldonado, PhD, PE
Vice President for Research & Innovation, University of California Office of the President
Mary Maxon, PhD
Executive Vice President, Carnegie Institution for Science
Vice President for Research & Economic Development, Morgan State University; Member, National Science Board, Former Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards & Technology and Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology (2015-17)
Willie E. May, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory; Council Member, National Postdoctoral Association
Alison McCarthy, PhD
President, National Academy of Sciences; Former Director, U.S. Geological Survey (2010-13)
Marcia McNutt, PhD
Associate Director, Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute; Professor, University of California, Merced
Juan Meza, PhD
Marie Lynn Miranda, PhD
Chancellor, University of Illinois Chicago
Michael Moloney, PhD
CEO, American Institute of Physics
Wendy Naus
Executive Director, Consortium of Social Science Associations
Christopher Nomura, PhD
Vice President for Research & Economic Development, University of Idaho
Bill Novelli
Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business
Santa Ono, PhD
President, University of Michigan
Stephen Pruitt, PhD
President, Southern Regional Education Board
Head of Science, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and President, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network; Professor, Stanford University
Stephen Quake, PhD
Chief Operating Officer, Simons Foundation
Euan Robertson
Katalina Salas, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow and Assistant Research Professor, University of Texas at El Paso
Hon. Donna Shalala, PhD
President Emerita, University of Miami; U.S. Representative (D-FL, 2019-21); Secretary of Health and Human Services (1993-2001)
Principal Researcher, Nike
Alison Sheets-Singer, PhD
Erika Shugart, PhD
CEO, National Science Teaching Association
David Siegel, PhD
Chair, Siegel Family Endowment; Co-Founder, Two Sigma
President & CEO, Association of American Medical Colleges
David Skorton, MD
Barbara Snyder, JD
President, Association of American Universities
President, Simons Foundation; Professor Emeritus, Princeton University
David Spergel, PhD
Bonnielin Swenor, PhD, MPH
Professor and Director, Disability Health Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing
Antonia Villarruel, PhD, RN
Dean, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Lisa Wagar, PhD
Assistant Professor, University of California, Irvine
President, The University of Texas at El Paso; Member, National Science Board; Secretary of the Air Force (2017-19); U.S. Representative (R-NM, 1998-2009)
Hon. Heather Wilson, PhD
W. Randolph Woodson, PhD
Chancellor, North Carolina State University
Catherine Woteki, PhD
Mary Woolley
President & CEO, Research!America
Professor, Iowa State University; Former Member, President’s Council on Advisors for Science & Technology (2021-24); Former Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research (2010-17)
Keith Yamamoto, PhD
Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Science Policy & Strategy; Vice Chancellor for Research, Emeritus; and Professor Emeritus, University of California, San Francisco
President and Vice Chairman, OPKO Health; Former Director, National Institutes of Health (2002-08)
Elias Zerhouni, MD
New Jersey State Senator (D-16th District); Head, Strategic Partnerships & Public Engagement, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Hon. Andrew Zwicker, PhD
*All individuals served on the VAST Task Force in a personal capacity. Institutional affiliations listed here are for informational purposes only, and the content of this report does not represent the views of any institutions listed here.
Throughout our process, we also sought input from leaders of many organizations and coalitions. Their listing here does not imply endorsement of the document.
Scientific Societies:
Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies (ACSESS)
American Anthropological Association
American Association for Anatomy
American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association of Geographers
American Association of Immunologists
American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists
American Association of Physicists in Medicine
American Association of Physics Teachers
American Astronomical Society
American Chemical Society
American Educational Research Association
American Geophysical Union
American Geosciences Institute
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Institute of Physics
American Mathematical Society
American Meteorological Society
American Ornithological Society
American Physical Society
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
American Public Health Association
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
American Society for Cell Biology
American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
American Society for Gravitational and Space
Research (ASGSR)
American Society for Pharmacology and
Experimental Therapeutics
American Society of Plant Biologists
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
American Sociological Association
American Statistical Association
American Thoracic Society
American Water Resource Association
ASM International
Association for Molecular Pathology
Association for Psychological Science
Association for Women in Science
Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC)
Biophysical Society
Botanical Society of America
Computing Research Association
Consortium of Social Science Associations
COPAFS
Council on Undergraduate Research
Ecological Society of America
Endocrine Society
Engineering Biology Research Consortium
Entomological Society of America
Federation of American Scientists
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Infectious Diseases Society of America
INFORMS
International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR)
International Society on Thrombosis and
Haemostasis
Marine Technology Society
Materials Research Society
Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences
National Institute of Building Sciences
National Postdoctoral Association
National Science Teaching Association
OPTICA
Population Association of America
Psychonomic Society
ScienceCounts, Inc.
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society
Society for Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM)
Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB)
Society for Neuroscience (SfN)
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
Society for Personality Assessment
Society for Research in Child Development
Society of Behavioral Medicine
Society of Vacuum Coaters
SPIE
Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation
The Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research
The American Institute of Architects
The American Physiological Society
The American Society for Cell Biology
The American Society for Microbiology
The American Society of Human Genetics
The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
The Electrochemical Society
The Endocrine Society
The Genetics Society of America
The Geological Society of America
The Gerontological Society of America
The Oceanography Society
The Population Association of America
The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
The Wildlife Society
U.S. Pharmacopeia
Coalitions:
Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research
Census Project
Coalition for Aerospace and Science
Coalition for Life Sciences
Coalition for National Science Funding
Coalition for National Security Research
Energy Sciences Coalition
National Academies Committee on Science, Engineering, Medicine, and Public Policy
Research!America
STEM Education Coalition
Task Force on American Innovation
The Science Coalition
United for Medical Research
Additional Acknowledgements
The Task Force would also like to thank the many leaders from the more than 15 federal agencies and offices who provided perspective on the current state of science and engineering within the federal government. These conversations took place in October 2024.
Finally, we would like to thank the many individuals beyond the Task Force who assisted in reviewing drafts of this vision to ensure that the ideas presented within were clear and could be well-supported with examples and evidence. In particular, our thanks to Jayshree Seth, Daniel Goroff, Donna Ginther, Scott Stern, Benjamin Jones, and Matt Clancy.
Faegre Drinker Consulting assisted in gathering and synthesizing input from Task Force members and individuals external to the Task Force to prepare the content of this report, with a team led by Ilse Peterson and Dave Zook that also included Nicholas Manetto, Cassie Maximin, Lee Nagao, and Sanjyot Sangodkar.
Global Strategy Group assisted with the production, design, and creative elements of this report, with a team led by Jim Papa and Amanda Thayer that also included Maggie Luddy, Lauren Gould, Isabel Foster, and Megan Ellingwood.
Additional strategic consultation and support was provided by staff of the Science & Technology Action Committee and Research!America, including Sheila Murphy, Shilpa Rajan, Anne Mandeville, and Mike Coburn.