Former A&M president to lead national board

By VIMAL PATEL
vimal.patel@theeagle.com

Published Wednesday, May 19, 2010 12:03 AM

Ray Bowen, a mechanical engineering professor at Texas A&M who served as president from 1994 to 2002, was selected this month to head the National Science Board.

"They tend to give [the position] to the oldest person in the room," the 74-year-old Bowen joked. "I've been blessed with good health. Good health matters a lot."

He has worked for the NSF twice, in the early 1980s as a division director and in the early 1990s as an acting assistant director for engineering. He has also been on the 25-person board for eight years, appointed to the six-year term in 2002 by President George W. Bush and reappointed in 2008.

"It's analogous to a board of regents of a university, with one exception: We don't hire and fire the NSF director. The president does that. We set policy, the budget ... approval on grants over a certain amount."

The board also establishes policies for the NSF, the federal agency with a $6.9 billion budget. The agency provides about 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by U.S. colleges and universities, according to the NSF website.

The board, which meets every other month, also advises the president and Congress on issues related to science and engineering research and education.

"The long-term economic strength of our nation depends on the availability of strong basic science," said Bowen, who has spent his post-presidency teaching math and mechanical engineering and writing technical books. "That basic science produces the iPads, iPods, the Internet -- all the things that have economically driven our country over the last 30, 40 years."

A constant "dilemma" for the NSF, Bowen said, has been where to focus money: large centers or smaller grants to individuals. It's a tougher challenge this year, as funding may not increase as it usually does, and the agency won't have $3 billion in stimulus funding that it had last year.

"The board will likely ask the NSF to make contingency plans for no increase in the budget," Bowen said.

What does Bowen's appointment mean for Texas A&M, his alma mater?

"For better or worse, I have A&M stamped on me," Bowen said. "Most universities would see that as a positive."