Henry Blount is head of the Office that administers the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), designed to fulfill the NSF’s mandate to promote scientific progress nationwide. The EPSCoR program directs its resources at those states that have historically received lesser amounts of NSF research and development (R&D) funding. Twenty-five states, one commonwealth, and one U.S. territory currently participate. Through this program, NSF establishes partnerships with government, higher education and industry designed to effect lasting improvements in a state’s or region’s research infrastructure and R&D capacity, hence improving its national R&D competitiveness.

Prior to being named head of the EPSCoR Office, Henry Blount served as head of the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities in NSF’s Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences; acting executive officer for the Division of Chemistry; acting deputy division director for Chemistry; director of program operations in the Research Facilities Office, Office of the Director; head of the Chemistry Division's Office of Special Projects; program director for Analytical and Surface Chemistry; and program director for Chemical Analysis.

Blount received the B.S. in chemistry from the University of North Carolina and the Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Georgia. He was a research associate and teaching fellow in chemistry at Case Western Reserve University. From 1970 until 1984, Blount was a member of the faculty of the University of Delaware. He was visiting professor of chemistry at the University of Guelph in 1978-79 and served the National Science Foundation as program director for Chemical Analysis in 1981-82. In 1984, Blount moved from his position as professor and director of graduate studies in chemistry at the University of Delaware to the NSF as program director for Chemical Analysis.

Blount's research has focused on mechanistic electrochemistry, bioelectrochemistry and applications of information theory to chemical analysis. He has chaired the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry and is currently a councilor for the division. He has served on the editorial advisory board of Analytical Chemistry, the board of directors of the Society of Electroanalytical Chemistry, and the ACS Committee on Minority Affairs. He is a member of the advisory board of Chemistry and a member of the ACS Committee on Science. Blount has received the University of Delaware Award for Excellence in Teaching, the ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Analytical Chemistry, the NSF Director's Meritorious Service Award, the NSF Director's Award for Management Excellence, and the NSF Director's Equal Opportunity Achievement Award. He also has served as an MPS Distinguished Fellow and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Brett Bobley serves as the chief information officer for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and is also the director of the agency’s Digital Humanities Initiative (DHI). Under DHI, Brett has put in place new grant programs aimed at supporting innovative humanities projects that utilize or study the impact of digital technology. Brett has a master's degree in computer science from the Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Chicago. In 2007, Brett was recognized by President Bush for his exceptional long-term accomplishments with a Presidential Rank Award.

Gale Buchanan received B.S. and M.S. degrees in agronomy from the University of Florida in 1959 and 1962, respectively, and a Ph.D. in plant physiology, with minors in botany and agronomy, from Iowa State University in 1965. Dr. Buchanan spent the first 21 years of his professional career with Auburn University in the Department of Agronomy and Soils, with primary teaching and research responsibilities in weed science. He served as dean and director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station from October 1, 1980 to September 30, 1985. On April 14, 1986, he was appointed associate director of the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations and resident director of the Coastal Plain Experiment Station. He served as Interim Director of the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations from June, 1994 to February, 1995. He became dean and director of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences March 1, 1995 up to 2006.

Parag Chitnis, Deputy Acting Director in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences of the National Science Foundation, received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles. Prior to his affiliation with the NSF, he served on the faculty of the Departments of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology at Iowa State University. He has conducted interdisciplinary research in plant biochemistry, photosynthesis, and proteomics and has published over 100 peer reviewed and invited articles.

Dan Collins, associate professor of intermedia, joined the School of Art faculty at Arizona State University in 1989. In addition to teaching courses in intermedia and foundations, Professor Collins is founding co-director of the PRISM lab--an interdisciplinary 3D modeling and rapid prototyping facility--and coordinator of the foundation program in basic art instruction (artCore). Collins studied studio art and art history at UC Davis where he received a Bachelor's degree in 1974. He holds an MA in Art Education from Stanford University (1975), and an MFA in "New Forms" and Sculpture from UCLA (1984). He was awarded a Fulbright to Malaysia for Research and Teaching in 1987 and the Herberger College Award for Research and Creative Activity in 2000.

His theoretical essays and reviews in the areas of art, education and technology have appeared in Leonardo, New Art Examiner, Computer Graphics and the Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, among others. He has co-edited two collections of essays on contemporary art: The Simulated Presence (1993) and The Eighth Day: The Transgenic Art of Eduardo Kac (2003), both of which were published by the Institute for Studies in the Arts at ASU. He is active in a number of national and international organizations including the College Art Association; Foundations in Art, Theory, and Education (FATE); SIGGRAPH; Association of Computing Machinery (ACM); the International Sculpture Center, and the Sculpture Guild of New York. His work in sculpture and installation has been exhibited at the Boston Cyberarts Festival, the Basel Art Fair, SIGGRAPH, the Scottsdale Center for the Arts, the Phoenix Art Museum, the Tucson Museum of Art and in numerous one-person shows in commercial galleries in Arizona and New York.

Don A. Dillman is Regents professor and the Thomas S. Foley distinguished professor of government and public policy at Washington State University in Pullman. He is an innovator in survey methodology, having contributed to the development of modern survey methods by mail, telephone and the Internet. His books, Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method (1978) and its successor, Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method (2000; 2007) have influenced the conduct of surveys worldwide. In 1991 he was the first person to serve as the senior survey methodologist in the Office of the Director at the U.S. Bureau of the Census. While there he provided leadership for the development of data collection procedures for the 2000 decennial census, for which he received the Roger Herriot Award for Innovation in Government Statistics.

He maintains an active research and publication program on how visual properties influence answers to survey questions and the implication for designing and implementing mixed-mode surveys. His most recent book is the International Handbook of Survey Methodology, co-edited with Edith de Leeuw and Joop Hox (Taylor and Francis, 2008).

Joan Ferrini-Mundy is the director of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education, in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources. In this role she supports NSF's mission of providing leadership and promoting development of the infrastructure and resources needed to improve pre-kindergarten through 12th grade science, technology, engineering and mathematics education throughout the U.S. Dr. Ferrini-Mundy also serves as a university distinguished professor of mathematics education at Michigan State University (MSU) and Associate Dean for Science and Mathematics Education in the College of Natural Science. She is a professor in the Departments of Mathematics and Teacher Education.

Dr. Ferrini-Mundy was a visiting scientist in NSF's Teacher Enhancement Program from 1989-1991 and worked at the National Research Council from 1995-1999 as Director of the Mathematical Sciences Education Board and Associate Executive Director of the Center for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Education. Ferrini-Mundy was a member of the RAND Mathematics Study Panel, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Mathematics Assessment Framework Committee, the ACHIEVE Mathematics Advisory Panel, and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study/ Programme for International Student Assessment (TIMSS/PISA) 2003 Expert Panel.

In Michigan she directs the Michigan Department of Education Teacher Preparation Policy Study Group to advise the superintendent of public instruction about policy reform in teacher preparation and has served as chair of the recent Mathematics High School Content Expectations Development Committee. From 1983-1999 Ferrini-Mundy was a member of the mathematics department at the University of New Hampshire, and in 1982-1983 she was a mathematics faculty member at Mount Holyoke College, where she co-founded the SummerMath for Teachers Program.

Active in professional societies, Ferrini-Mundy has served on the board of directors of the National Council of Teachers, and chaired the writing group for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) 2000 Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. She completed a term as a member of the Board of Governors of the Mathematical Association of America in 2006. Her research interests include calculus teaching and learning, the development and assessment of teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching, and the improvement of student learning in K-12 mathematics. She has played leadership roles in several MSU-based projects, including the Carnegie-supported Teachers for A New Era Initiative, the NSF-funded Knowledge of Algebra for Teaching project, and Promoting Rigorous Outcomes in Mathematics/Science Education (PROM/SE), an NSF Mathematics and Science Partnership.

James Herrington has over 25 years experience in international public health. In September 2005, he was appointed director of the Division of International Relations for Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He serves to develop new and strategic partnerships between U.S. scientists and researchers abroad to advance translational research and training in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. Previous to his appointment with NIH, he worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Dr. Herrington's career has focused primarily on Africa and the Caribbean, with long-term assignments in Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, Nigeria and Sénégal. Dr. Herrington holds a Ph.D. in environmental health and epidemiology from Colorado State University, an M.P.H. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a B.S. from Texas A&M University. His research interests include behavioral epidemiology, risk perceptions, vector-borne and immunizable infectious diseases, and the communication of science and technology.

In addition to authorship of articles in peer-reviewed journals, Dr. Herrington also serves as an anonymous reviewer for the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the American Journal of Public Health, and Health Behavior and Education. His secondary languages include French and Wolof. Dr. Herrington is from Oklahoma and a member of the Chickasaw tribe.

Trevor M. Penning is a professor of pharmacology, biochemistry & biophysics and obstetrics & gynecology and directs the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Southampton University, U.K., and conducted postdoctoral studies at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine with Dr. Paul Talalay.

Penning's research on mechanisms of hormonal and chemical carcinogenesis has led to the elucidation of the role of aldo-keto reductases in steroid, drug and xenobiotic metabolism. His group is credited for the discovery of a novel pathway of PAH activation involving the formation of reactive and redox-active ortho-quinones. Penning has published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers and has received The Albert Ethelbert Ebert Prize and Medal from the American Pharmaceutical Association and a Career Development Award from the National Cancer Institute. He also was elected to Johns Hopkins University’s Society of Scholars.

He is an editorial board member for the Journal of Biological Chemistry, The Biochemical Journal and Steroids journal. He previously served on the editorial board of Chemical Research in Toxicology. Penning also is a full member of the Cancer Etiology Study Section at the National Institutes of Health.

In addition to his research, Penning has held several administrative positions. He was associate dean for Postdoctoral Research Training and became the founding director of Biomedical Postdoctoral Programs at the University of Pennsylvania. He was chair of the Graduate Research Education and Training Group of the Association of American Medical Colleges in 2006, and program chair of the American Chemical Society’s Division of Chemical Toxicology in 2005-06. In 2005, he assumed directorship of the CEET, which is the first Environmental Health Sciences Center in Pennsylvania. The center is supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Dana M. Sampson a program analyst at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), received her master’s degree in management and policy from the University of Maryland. Ms. Sampson has 11 years of experience with the federal government and joined the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at NIH in 2001. Her work there includes serving on several trans-NIH committees and as a project and program officer conducting program development and management. She has played a role in the development and release of multiple NIH funding opportunity announcements, which are calls for research. Specifically, a funding opportunity announcement is a document by which a federal agency makes known its intentions to award discretionary grants or cooperative agreements, usually as a result of competition for funds.

She also manages a mentoring program, "Promoting Diversity Through Mentoring," which links NIH-funded behavioral and social science researchers with students and junior faculty of underrepresented populations. The purpose of the mentoring program is both to expand the promotion efforts of the NIH research supplement training program and to ensure a concentration of researchers who will address behavioral and social factors that are important in improving the public's health, especially among underrepresented populations. Mentees benefit by joining the research team of leading behavioral and social scientists and consequently jump starting their career. Mentors offer their expertise and assist the OBSSR in building a cadre of diverse scientists in the behavioral and social sciences.

Frank P. Scioli is senior science adviser for the Division of Social and Economic Sciences in the national Science Foundation’s Social, Behavioral and Economic Science Directorate (SBE). Dr. Scioli provides advice on emerging science issues and new initiatives as well as activities for increasing interdisciplinary activities among the various sciences in the SBE Directorate and the National Science Foundation. The sciences represented in the SBE Directorate include economics, sociology, cognitive neuroscience, developmental learning, and linguistics, to name just a few.

Dr. Scioli is co-director of the Foundation's IGERT Program (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program) and has been active in NSF outreach and broadening participation activities.

He has been at the National Science Foundation for over three decades and has served as section head in the Research Applied to National Needs Directorate, Political Science Program director and detailee to the Office of Cyberinfrastructure. He recently received the Frank J. Goodnow award for distinguished service to the political science profession from the American Political Science Association.

Richard Lombardo coordinates the Teaching Documentation Program and directs the postdoctoral services initiative in the Office of Graduate Studies at UNL. Dr. Lombardo holds a Ph.D. in psychological studies in education, with a specialization in cognition, learning, and development, and teaches a graduate course in adolescent psychology for the Department of Educational Psychology at UNL. He also serves as a pedagogy instructor in the Summer Institute for International Teaching Assistants through the Office of Graduate Studies. Prior to joining the Office of Graduate Studies, Rick headed up his own management consultant business, helping local, regional and national businesses improve performance and productivity. Dr. Lombardo received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Creighton University.