President Barack Obama has appointed Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson to serve as a member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB), which is charged with advising the President on the effectiveness with which the United States Intelligence Community is meeting the nation’s intelligence needs.

The Board assesses issues pertaining to the quality, quantity, and adequacy of intelligence activities; effectiveness of organizational structure, management, and personnel; and performance of all agencies of the Federal Government engaged in the collection, evaluation, or production of intelligence or the execution of intelligence policy.

“Scientific discovery and technological innovation, including vital research here at Rensselaer, is fundamental to global security,” President Jackson said.  “I am honored that President Obama has asked me to serve on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. I have long believed that those in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have a special obligation to bring our knowledge and perspectives into the public policy arena to help better inform decision-making.”

President Jackson’s current public service contributions also include serving as a member of the U.S. Secretary of State International Security Advisory Board and the U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB). Previously, she served as chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (1994-1999), as a member of the National Commission for the Review of the Research and Development Programs of the United States Intelligence Community, and on numerous other Federal and State Boards and commissions.

As a result of her membership on PIAB, Dr. Jackson has concluded her service on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), and as co-chair of the President’s Innovation and Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC), part of the PCAST (2009-2014). In that role, in 2011 she co-authored the “Report to the President on Ensuring American Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing,” offering an overarching strategy for revitalizing manufacturing in the U.S. She also contributed to a range of other PCAST reports including the 2010 report on networking and information technology titled “Designing a Digital Future: Federally Funded Research and Development in Networking and Information Technology.”

President Jackson was appointed as a member of PIAB effective September 25, 2014.