NSF names new head for Math & Physical Sciences Directorate

Tony F. Chan will be the National Science Foundation's next assistant director for the Mathematics & Physical Sciences (MPS) Directorate, a role in which he will oversee a budget of about $1 billion that supports research in astronomy, chemistry, materials science, mathematics, physics, and multidisciplinary activities. Chan, who is the dean of physical sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, will take over from Michael S. Turner, who left the agency at the end of March. Judith S. Sunley will serve as MPS acting assistant director until Chan joins MPS on Oct. 1. "We are delighted that NSF can benefit from Tony's extraordinary record as a scientist and an administrator, especially at this critical time in the history of mathematics and physical sciences," NSF Director Arden L. Bement Jr. said in a statement. Chan's research focuses on interdisciplinary mathematics in areas such as image processing and computer vision, multiscale computer methods, and optimization and multilevel methods for electronics design. He holds a B.S. degree in engineering and a master's degree in aeronautics from Caltech and a Ph.D. degree in computer science from Stanford University.