Yale Scientist Moves To White House Post

The Senate last week confirmed Yale University professor Jo Handelsman as associate director for science at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy. The action came almost a year after President Barack Obama nominated her to the post. A microbiologist, Handelsman is best known as a longtime advocate for improving science teaching. She has developed and published guides to better science teaching, especially focused on active learning, mentoring, classroom diversity, and self-correction. She has also conducted important research into gender bias in science hiring and mentorship. Among many other education leadership roles, Handelsman was cochair of a presidential working group on improving undergraduate education that developed the 2010 report “Engage To Excel.” In 2011, she received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring. Handelsman’s research focuses on microbial diversity in soil, plant, and insect gut communities. She was a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, for 25 years before moving to Yale in 2010.