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Pitts Joins CMOP External Advisory Board
CMOP welcomes Dr. Nathaniel G. Pitts, formerly of the National Science Foundation (NSF), as the newest member of the CMOP External Advisory Board (EAB). Dr. Pitts joins 11 other EAB members.
As a NSF Science and Technology Center (STC), CMOP is required to have an EAB, consisting of members who are independent of the Center and who provide guidance and feedback to the Center director. EAB members also evaluate the effectiveness of the Center in meeting its various objectives.
Dr. Pitts could hardly be more qualified to serve on the CMOP EAB. Dr. Pitts was with the NSF from 1977 until his recent retirement from the NSF in January 2008. He was responsible for the NSF STC Program since 1991 in a leadership capacity, reporting directly to the Director of the NSF and to such entities as the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the National Science Board, and the Congress about NSF STCs.
Dr. Pitts was the NSF Director of the Office of Integrative Activities, the office through which the STC program was developed. He spent much of his NSF career not only helping to develop and to lead the STC program since its inception,but has been responsible for several other NSF activities, including the Congressionally mandated Major Research Instrumentation Program, the Presidential Early Career Awards for Science and Engineering, the NSF Merit Review Process, and the Congressionally mandated Committee on Equal Opportunity in Science and Engineering. In addition, Dr. Pitts served on the NSF Director's Policy Group and the Senior Management Integration Group, and he frequently presented to the National Science Board on behalf of the NSF Director, on management issues and NSF programs.
Dr. Pitts received his B.S. in biology and chemistry from Whittier College and his Ph.D. in neurophysiology from the U. of California at Davis.
Dr. Antonio Baptista, CMOP Director, views Dr. Pitts as a tremendous asset to CMOP. "[Dr. Pitt’s membership on the CMOP EAB] is important and great news. I greatly admire Dr. Pitts for his accomplishments, and he will provide valuable insights that will help guide the Center."
