ASU chief of research and innovation named chair of APLU Council on Research

Sethuraman Panchanathan, executive vice president of Knowledge Enterprise Development and chief research and innovation officer at ASU, has been named chair of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) Council on Research.

The APLU Council on Research (CoR) convenes vice presidents and chancellors of research from major public universities to coordinate on ways to grow and make more effective the shared research mission of their institutions. The council works to develop initiatives that strengthen research and teaching on campus and engage with federal lawmakers and agency officials to advance policies on a national level. CoR also serves as a forum to share knowledge and findings on key issues impacting APLU members and their campuses.

“We are delighted that Dr. Panchanathan will serve as the chair of the APLU Council for Research for 2017-2019,” said APLU Executive Vice President Howard Gobstein. “As the gifted research leader of ASU, Panch brings deep understanding of the research enterprise, keen interest in innovation and a broad international network, such as his service on the National Science Board. He will be an energetic guide for the 237 member institutions of APLU in sustaining their international leadership — conducting $43 billion of research and training 1.3 million graduate students.”

Panchanathan leads ASU’s $500 million knowledge enterprise, which advances research, innovation, strategic partnerships, entrepreneurship and global and economic development. ASU remains the fastest growing research institution in the country among organizations with more than $100 million in research expenditures. In 2014 President Barack Obama appointed him to the U.S. National Science Board. He has been appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Society of Optical Engineering.

“APLU has been a leading voice in advocating for the advancement of public universities in North America,” Panchanathan said. “I’m deeply honored to serve alongside my peers — research and graduate education administrators from across the U.S., Canada and Mexico — to contribute to APLU’s transformative work to advocate for federal policies that support public universities and the students they seek to serve.”

The APLU is a research, policy and advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening and advancing the work of public universities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Read more online at http://www.aplu.org/.