National Science Foundation Director France Córdova to speak at Rice’s Baker Institute April 10

MEDIA ADVISORY

David Ruth
david@rice.edu
713-348-6327

Jeff Falk
jfalk@rice.edu
713-348-6775

National Science Foundation Director France Córdova to speak at Rice’s Baker Institute April 10
Cordova, Culberson and Jackson Lee to discuss Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment Systems center April 11

HOUSTON – (April 5, 2017) – France Córdova, director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), will discuss the foundation’s “10 Big Ideas” that emerged from a national science planning effort, many of which cut across disciplinary boundaries and require novel methods and approaches, at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy April 10.

This event is part of the Baker Institute Civic Scientist Lecture Series organized by the Baker Institute Science and Technology Policy Program and the Rorschach Lecture Series organized by Rice’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. The event is sponsored in conjunction with Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering and Wiess School of Natural Sciences. It is free and open to the public but registration is required.

On April 11, Córdova will continue her visit to the Rice campus by meeting with U.S. Reps. John Culberson, R-Texas, and Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, to discuss NSF’s engineering research centers, including Rice’s Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT) Systems project. NEWT’s goal is to develop compact, mobile, off-grid water-treatment systems that can provide clean water to millions of people who lack it and make U.S. energy production more sustainable and cost-effective.

Córdova, Culberson and Jackson Lee will observe a demonstration of one of NEWT’s desalination technologies that operates exclusively on solar power and tour Rice’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen to view undergraduate engineering projects. These events begin at 2:30 p.m. in Rice’s Brockman Hall for Physics, Room 101, 6100 Main St. Media interested in attending must RSVP to jfalk@rice.edu.

Who: France Cordova, director of the National Science Foundation since 2014. A physicist, she is president emerita of Purdue University, where she served as president from 2007 to 2012.

What: An event titled “Ten Big Ideas: Realizing NSF’s Vision for Future Research and Discovery.”

When: Monday, April 10, 6:30-8 p.m. A reception will be at 6.

Where: Rice University, Baker Hall, Doré Commons, 6100 Main St.

The NSF’s long-standing relationship with the science and engineering community has generated a continuous stream of leading-edge ideas that have produced discoveries, inventions and approaches, according to event organizers. With input from this community in mind, the NSF launched an extensive planning exercise to identify ideas for investment to ensure that future generations will reap the benefits of fundamental scientific research. This effort resulted in the “10 Big Ideas” in 2016.

The public must RSVP for the event at www.bakerinstitute.org/events/1864. A live webcast will be available at the event page.

Members of the news media who want to attend should RSVP to Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

For a map of Rice University’s campus with parking information, go to www.rice.edu/maps. Media are advised to park in the Central Campus Garage.

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Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top five university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.