Ardent Bement, NSF Director, To Step Down

Arden L. Bement announced plans to leave the helm of the National Science Foundation and become the director of Purdue University's new Global Policy Research Institute (GPRI).

Bement, 77, was appointed NSF director by President George W. Bush in November 2004 for a six year term. He had served as the acting NSF director for 10 months prior to his appointment.

"I want to thank Dr. Bement for his nearly seven years of distinguished service at NSF's helm and his unwavering commitment to America's research and education enterprise," John H. Holdren, assistant to the President for science and technology and director of the Office of Science & Technology Policy said in a statement.

Bement will join GPRI on June 1. The new institute will draw on seven different science and research disciplines at Purdue.

The new position marks a homecoming of sorts for Bement. He is a former Purdue nuclear engineering professor and department head. In addition to his tenure at Purdue, he’s been on the faculty of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and worked in the private sector at TRW Inc. and General Electric. He's held administrative stints at the National Institute of Standards & Technology, the Department of Defense, and the Battelle Northwest Laboratories.

Bement holds an engineer of metallurgy degree from Colorado School of Mines, a master's degree in metallurgical material engineering from the University of Idaho, and a doctoral degree in metallurgical material engineering from the University of Michigan.