MIT dean is named to head NSF

Subra Suresh, dean of engineering at MIT since 2007, was nominated by President Obama on 3 June to succeed Arden Bement, who resigned after six years as director of NSF. Suresh led MIT’s materials science and engineering department from 2000 to 2006. During his tenure as dean, in 2009 MIT’s engineering department for the first time hired more women than men as new faculty. His research interests include nanotechnology and the life sciences; most recently he has done extensive work on the nanobiomechanical properties of red blood cells. Suresh’s appointment is subject to Senate confirmation; at press time, no hearing had been scheduled by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, which has jurisdiction over NSF. Bement, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, left NSF with a few months remaining on his six-year appointment and returned to Purdue University, where he is setting up a center on...