He said he would do it. And he did. President Obama said a few months ago that not only should sports stars rate star billing at the White House but so should scientists and science students. And this week he made good on that promise: the first White House science fair. Here is the White House announcement, with a listing of the special exhibits on display. WhiteHouseScienceFair
Obama also took advantage of the event to announce a new head of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Subra Suresh, Dean of the School of Engineering at MIT, who that morning was sworn in as the Director of the NSF. Dr. Suresh is a man of many talents who is not only a pioneering expert in nanotechnology, one of the main focuses of the NSF, but whose work crosses over into the field of biology and medicine.
It’s been awhile since the NSF had a true research scientist as it’s chief. Perhaps that is also an Obama promise kept: to restore science to its rightful place in society.
We can do nothing less than wish him good luck, and hope that his success in the world of the ultra-tiny translates well in the politically charged world of DC where tiny means very little.
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