Craig R. Barrett, Patrick J. McGovern, and Joe Palca join Distinguished Board; H. Robert Horvitz Elected Chair
Society for Science & the Public (SSP) today welcomed H. Robert Horvitz, who succeeds Dudley Herschbach, as Chair of the SSP Board, and three additional Board members, also national leaders in business, science and journalism: Craig R. Barrett, Patrick J. McGovern, and Joe Palca. Horvitz is the third successive Nobel Laureate to serve as Chair, starting with Glenn Seaborg in 1966, and Dudley Herschbach, in 1992.
“We are thrilled to welcome these board members,” said Elizabeth Marincola president of Society for Science & the Public. “They bring a variety of experiences, unparalleled reputations as thought-leaders, and a passion for advancing SSP’s work informing the public of significant scientific advances, educating our nation’s youth, and inspiring the next generation of innovators.”
SSP is known for its outstanding science competitions including the Intel Science Talent Search and the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, and as publisher of the awardwinning magazine, Science News. It is launching the Broadcom MASTERS, a program of Society for Science & the Public, a new national science competition for middle school students, this fall.
Horvitz received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2002 and is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and a Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Barrett served as CEO and then Chairman of the Board of Intel Corporation. Prior to joining Intel, Barrett was on the Stanford faculty in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Intel became title sponsor of the Intel Science Talent Search and the Intel Science & Engineering Fair, under Barrett’s leadership.
McGovern is Founder and Chairman of International Data Group (IDG), a leading technology, media, events, and research company. A 1959 graduate of MIT in Biophysics, McGovern serves as an MIT Trustee. Over the course of his career, he has launched more than 300 magazines and newspapers, including CIO, Computerworld, GamePro, and Macworld.
Palca is a science correspondent for NPR. Since 1992, Palca has covered a range of science topics from biomedical research to astronomy. He holds a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has also worked as a producer for CBS, a Washington news editor for Nature, and a senior correspondent for Science.
Dudley Herschbach and Bob Fri leave the SSP Board today after many years of distinguished, dedicated service. Herschbach won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and today he is a member of the emeritus faculty at Harvard University. Fri’s distinctions include having served as Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and ofthe U.S. Energy Research & Development Administration.
The new members of the SSP Board of Trustees join Michela English, Executive Director of Fight for Children; S. James Gates, Jr., Professor and Director of the Center for String & Particle Theory at the University of Maryland; Tom Leighton, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of Akamai Technologies; Alan Leshner, CEO of the AAAS and Publisher of Science; Stephanie Pace Marshall, President Emerita and Founding President of the Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy; Anne Petersen, Research Professor at the Center for Human Growth & Development at the University of Michigan; Robert Shaw, President of Arete Corporation; Frank Wilczek, Professor of Theoretical Physics at MIT; Gayle Wilson, Former First Lady of California and Founder of COSMOS, and Jennifer Yruegas, CEO of JY Consultants, LLC. Wilczek also won the Nobel Prize (Physics, 2004), and Leighton, Wilczek, Wilson and Yruegas are Finalist Alumni of SSP’s science competitions.
Society for Science & the Public (SSP) is one of the nation’s oldest non-profit organizations dedicated to public engagement in science and science education. Established in 1921, SSP is a leading advocate for the understanding and appreciation of science and the vital role it plays in human advancement. Through its acclaimed education competitions and its award-winning magazine, Science News, Society for Science & the Public is committed to inform, educate, and inspire.