NSF picks Chan

Tony Chan, a mathematician and dean of physical sciences at UCLA, has been named the new head of mathematics and physical sciences at NSF. Chan, who received his PhD in computer science from Stanford University in 1978, will take over as assistant director for MPS on 1 October. Astronomer Michael Turner, the previous MPS head, left NSF earlier this year to return to the University of Chicago.

Citing Chan’s administrative experience as a dean at UCLA, NSF director Arden Bement Jr said the foundation can benefit from “Tony’s extraordinary record as a scientist and an administrator, especially at this critical time in the history of mathematics and physical sciences.” Chan will begin his job just as NSF begins implementing a new strategic plan intended, according to foundation officials, to redefine the “mission, vision, goals, and objectives” of the foundation. His job may be easier than Turner’s since the Bush administration has proposed an 8.3% budget increase for NSF funding.

UCLA chancellor Albert Carnesale described Chan as an “outstanding scholar and a visionary administrator” who has a “strong commitment to interdisciplinary research, involving units within the physical sciences, engineering, medicine, and the life sciences.” Chan describes his research as applying “linear and non-linear algebraic algorithms to the solution of large systems of equations arising in scientific computing.”