A Network of Scientific Leadership

Daniel Diermeier is Chancellor of Vanderbilt University and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Guggenheim Foundation. He previously served as Provost of the University of Chicago and Dean of the Harris School of Public Policy. Earlier in his career, he was the IBM Professor of Regulation and Competitive Practice at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

His research focuses on corporate reputation, political risk, and crisis management, spanning political science, economics, and management. His work has informed advisory roles with governments, major corporations, and institutions including the FBI, Johnson & Johnson, Accenture, and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee — bridging academic research and real-world institutional decision-making.

Daniel Goroff is Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, where he champions rigorous, policy-relevant research in the social sciences and directs the Sloan Research Fellowship Program supporting outstanding early-career scholars across disciplines. He has served multiple tours at the White House, most recently as Deputy Director for Science and Society at the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and previously as Division Director for Social and Economic Sciences at the National Science Foundation.

A mathematician and economist by training, Goroff spent twenty years at Harvard, earning Harvard's Phi Beta Kappa Award for excellence in teaching. His research spans decision-making under uncertainty, the mathematics of privacy, and the economics of science.

Kathleen Hagerty is Provost of Northwestern University and the first woman to hold the role in the University's history. A distinguished scholar in finance, she has held a number of senior academic leadership positions at the Kellogg School of Management, including Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research, Chair of the Finance Department, and Interim Dean.

Over a career spanning more than three decades at Northwestern, she has been a tireless advocate for the University's academic mission and a leader in advancing faculty excellence and research. She has played a key role in helping Northwestern navigate periods of significant change and challenge, demonstrating exceptional skill in leading through complex circumstances while strengthening the University's academic programs and global standing.

Kaye Husbands Fealing is Assistant Director at the National Science Foundation, where she leads the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate. An economist by training, she has played a key role in advancing research at the intersection of science, innovation, and public policy. She was the inaugural program director of NSF's Science of Science and Innovation Policy program, helping establish the science of science as a recognized field of inquiry.

She previously served as Dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and Chair of the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Earlier in her career, she taught for two decades at Williams College and served as President of the National Economic Association.

Kei Koizumi is a science policy expert with extensive experience in federal research and development policy. He served as Special Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Director for Science, Society, and Policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), including a period as Acting Director.

He previously served at OSTP as Assistant Director for Federal R&D, where he advised on science and technology budgets and federal research priorities. Before and between his OSTP roles, he spent nearly fourteen years at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, most recently as Senior Advisor in Science Policy and earlier as Director of the R&D Budget and Policy Program.

Marcia McNutt is President of the National Academy of Sciences. A geophysicist by training, she previously served as Editor-in-Chief of Science and as Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, where she was the first woman to hold the role. She also served as science adviser to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

Earlier in her career, she was President and CEO of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and held academic appointments at institutions including Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her work spans earth science, scientific leadership, and the role of science in informing public policy and addressing global challenges.

Pin Ni is a Trustee of Northwestern University and President of Wanxiang America Corporation, where he turned a $20,000 personal investment into a multibillion-dollar conglomerate with interests spanning auto parts, clean energy, private equity, and real estate. Under his leadership, Wanxiang America has become a major bridge between U.S. and global markets, with a strong focus on industrial innovation and sustainable development.

Beyond his corporate role, he is deeply engaged in civic and economic leadership. He serves as a Board Director of World Business Chicago, Vice Chair of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and Chairman of the China General Chamber of Commerce–USA Chicago, where he advances international business collaboration and cross-border investment.

Peter Schiffer is Dean for Research and Professor of Physics at Princeton University, where he leads the University's research activities across disciplines and supports the development of major scientific initiatives. He previously served as Vice Provost for Research at Yale University, the inaugural university-wide senior research officer responsible for coordinating research strategy and strengthening collaboration across departments, and as Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he oversaw interdisciplinary research institutes and campus-wide initiatives.

He has also served as a senior fellow at the Association of American Universities, contributing to national discussions on research policy, funding, and the future direction of scientific research.

Toby Smith is Senior Vice President for Government Relations and Public Policy at the Association of American Universities (AAU), where he leads the association's engagement on science and innovation policy, higher education, and international initiatives. In this role, he provides strategic leadership on a broad range of policy issues, including research funding and costs, research integrity and security, scientific openness, public access to research, and technology transfer.

He previously served as Director of Federal Relations for Research at the University of Michigan and as Assistant Director of the MIT Washington Office, where he worked on federal policy issues affecting scientific research and higher education.