The White House announced today it will nominate National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) veteran Laurie Locascio to serve as the next under secretary of Standards and Technology for the Department of Commerce. The post typically comes with a dual-title of NIST Director.
Locascio – who has been serving as vice president of research for the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore – will return to NIST and take over for James Olthoff, if confirmed.
Locascio previously served in senior leadership at the agency. Her last post at NIST had her handling the duties of acting principal deputy director and associate director of Laboratory Programs. She had worked her way up to the post, gaining recognition for her abilities as a researcher and innovator at the agency.
In her current duties as vice president of research at UMD, she has overseen the development of interdisciplinary research, technology commercialization, and strategic partnerships. She is also a professor in bioengineering, and in the department of pharmacology.
Over the course of her career, Locascio has had more than 100 scientific papers published and has 11 patents.
