United States Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology | |
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Incumbent Laurie Locascio since April 19, 2022 | |
Website | Official website |
The Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, or USC(ST), is a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the technological development. The Under Secretary is dual hatted as the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology within the Commerce Department.
The Under Secretary is appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of the United States Senate to serve at the pleasure of the President. A past Under Secretary is Patrick D. Gallagher, who was appointed by President Barack Obama on November 5, 2009. [1] On May 5, 2015, Willie E. May became Under Secretary. [2] On January 4, 2017, May retired and Kent Rochford became acting Under Secretary. [3] On September 12, 2017, Walter Copan was announced as the nominee for Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology. [4] Copan was confirmed unanimously by the Senate on October 5, 2017 and left office on January 20, 2021. On July 16, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Dr. Laurie Locascio for the position; she has confirmed to be confirmed by the Senate on April 7, 2022. [5] And she assumed office on April 19, 2022. Locascio is a biomedical researcher, former National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) official, and current Vice President for Research at two University of Maryland locations. [6]
As the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Under Secretary is responsible for promoting American innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.
With the rank of Under Secretary, the USC(ST)/Director is a Level III position within the Executive Schedule. The Under Secretary ranks sixth in the line of succession for the office of Secretary of Commerce.
The position of Under Secretary/Director was created by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010.
In the Electronic Commerce Technology Promotion Act, the 106th Congress created a position for Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology, [7] appointing Dr Cheryl L. Shavers to the position. [8]
NIST officials reporting to the USC(ST)/Director include:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a physical sciences laboratory and non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce. Its mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into laboratory programs that include nanoscale science and technology, engineering, information technology, neutron research, material measurement, and physical measurement. From 1901 to 1988, the agency was named the National Bureau of Standards.
The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to the president of the United States. The president chairs the meetings but is not formally a member of the Cabinet. The heads of departments, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, are members of the Cabinet, and acting department heads also participate in Cabinet meetings whether or not they have been officially nominated for Senate confirmation. The president may designate heads of other agencies and non-Senate-confirmed members of the Executive Office of the President as members of the Cabinet.
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The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, or USC(IP), is a senior official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the intellectual property matters. In tandem, the Under Secretary is also the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office within the Commerce Department, filling dual roles.
The Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, or USC(IS), is a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the export of sensitive goods and technologies. The Under Secretary is the head of the Bureau of Industry and Security within the Commerce Department.
The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is a council in the Executive Branch of the United States. It is designed to coordinate science and technology policy across the branches of federal government.
The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, or USC(OA), is a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the environmental and scientific activities of the Department. The Under Secretary is dual hatted as the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the Commerce Department.
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Heidi Shyu(Chinese: 徐若冰, Xú Ruòbīng; born September 28, 1953 in Taipei, Taiwan) is an American engineer who has served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in the Biden administration since July 25, 2021. She previously served as the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology ASA(ALT) from 2012 to January 30, 2016.
Patrick David Gallagher is an American physicist and the eighteenth chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh. He was formerly the 14th director of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and had served as the Acting United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce. On February 8, 2014, he was named the Chancellor-elect of the University of Pittsburgh and assumed the position of Chancellor on August 1, 2014. He announced on April 7, 2022, that he will step down from the chancellor's job in the summer of 2023 and join the department of physics and astronomy at the university.
Nani A. Coloretti is an American policy advisor who is currently serving as the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. Coloretti served as United States Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2014 to 2017. Following her service as deputy secretary, she became senior vice president for financial and business strategy and treasurer at the Urban Institute.
Willie E. May is an American chemist who was director of the United States' National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology. He has been active in international organizations, collaborating with others in Brazil, China, and the European Union.
Ernest Ambler was a British-American physicist who served as the Acting Under Secretary for Technology in the Department of Commerce (1988–89), as director of the United States' National Bureau of Standards, and as the first director of the United States' National Institute of Standards and Technology 1988–89.
Cheryl L. Shavers is an American chemist, engineer, and businesswoman. After gaining a degree in chemistry, she worked as an engineer at Motorola. Shavers returned to university for a few years, gaining a PhD in solid state chemistry, before returning to private industry. Shavers worked at increasingly senior levels in Silicon Valley, at Hewlett Packard and Intel. She served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology in the Clinton Administration (1999-2001), and is a registered patent agent in the US Patent and Trademark Office. After leaving government service in 2001, she established a consultancy and strategy business, Global Smarts Inc. Shavers was inducted into the Women In Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame and the Hall of Fame of the Arizona State University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
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