US President Donald Trump has tapped seven individuals to serve on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), ScienceInsider reports, noting that this announcement comes 33 months after President Trump took office.
PCAST traces its roots to the Truman Administration and typically advises the president on key matters of science and technology, ScienceInsider says. As it and the Washington Post note, all but one of these new members of the advisory council hail from industry. These new members include Bank of America's Catherine Bessant, Dario Gil from IBM Research, Cyclo Therapeutics' Sharon Hrynkow, Fisk Johnson of S.C. Johnson & Son, Dow Chemical's Attiganal Sreeram, Shane Wall from HP Labs, and the University of California, Berkeley's Birgitta Whaley. ScienceInsider adds that only Hrynkow has government experience, as she worked at the State Department and National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center.
"Under this administration, science and technology in America continues to advance by leaps and bounds," says Kelvin Droegemeier, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, who will also lead the council, in a statement, according to the Post. "PCAST will be critical to our continued efforts, with each member bringing a unique expert perspective to the table."
The Post adds the council is to have 16 members.