Chancellor Tseng gave two presentations today to the National Science Board at the National Science Foundation (NSF) headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. She gave the first presentation at a private luncheon with NSB members– that talk was titled “Research at UH Hilo: Successes, Aspirations, Opportunities and Challenges.” Her afternoon talk was a public presentation to the NSB Education and Human Resources Committee, entitled “Education/Research at UH Hilo: Integrating Culture, Science and Technology.”

The NSB is the governing body of the NSF and is an independent policy body established by Congress. The board is comprised of 24 members appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and members are selected based on their national distinction and eminence in basic, medical, or social sciences, engineering, agriculture, education, research management or public affairs.

The NSB visited UH Hilo last summer and its members were greatly impressed with the university’s research/education programs. Following the visit, NSB chair Steven Beering commended the leadership at UH Hilo for their farsighted efforts and for embracing and integrating the concept of ‘ohana, or family, into the culture of the university.

“I greatly appreciated the many briefings and discussions at UH Hilo highlighting the enormous value in weaving Native Hawaiian and broader Pacific Islander culture and perspectives into science and engineering research and education in Hawai’i” said Beering. “We can benefit and learn from the Hawaiian model for pro-actively broadening participation of under-represented minorities is fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.”

Chancellor Tseng was invited to give today’s two presentations to share with the board UH Hilo’s vision concerning science and engineering education at the Hilo campus and the importance of partnerships with NSF. The NSB Education and Human Resources Committee was interested in exploring specific educational issues of importance to UH Hilo that the board had previously discussed at the campus last summer.