The Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State (sometimes referred to as STAS) is the principal office within the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

for independent science and technology advising. STAS was created in 2000 by Secretary of State

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...

in response to a 1999 study by the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

which called for the establishment of an independent science adviser. STAS focuses on anticipating the impact of emerging science, technology, and innovation issues on foreign policy, building the State Department's capacity to engage with emerging science, technology, and innovation issues, and engaging with the science, technology, and innovation community to achieve Department goals. STAS is typically led by the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary. Following a recommendation in a 2015 study by the National Academy of Sciences, the Adviser position was given the rank of Assistant Secretary. To date there have been six advisers: Norman P. Neureiter, George Atkinson,

Nina Fedoroff Nina Vsevolod Fedoroff (born April 9, 1942) is an American molecular biologist known for her research in life sciences and biotechnology, especially transposable elements or jumping genes. and plant stress response.Elder, Andy (Fall 2002Faces of ...

William Colglazier E. lmerWilliam Colglazier (born November 24, 1944, and raised in San Antonio, Texas) is an American physicist, best known as the fourth Science and Technology Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State. He assumed that position in July, 2011. In tha ...

Vaughan Turekian Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...

and

Mung Chiang Mung Chiang (born 1977) is a Chinese-American engineering researcher, educator, technology entrepreneur, foreign policy official, and 13th President of Purdue University. Starting January 1, 2023, Chiang is President of Purdue University. He i ...

. Matt Chessen was the acting Adviser from 2018-19 and again briefly from 2020-2021. As of February 2021, Allison Schwier is the acting Adviser. STAS operates the State Department's science and technology fellowship programs, including the AAAS S&T Fellowships Program, the Jefferson Science Fellows Program, and professional science and engineering fellowships with the American Institute of Physics, Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technologies, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Under Vaughan Turekian, STAS helped found the Foreign Ministers Science and Technology Advisers Network, an international network of S&T advisers to foreign ministers and heads of State.

References

External links

Official website

Foreign Ministers Science and Technology Advisers Network
{{authority control United States Department of State agencies Science and technology in the United States Government agencies established in 2000 2000 establishments in the United States