Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State
The Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State is the principal office within the United States Department of State for independent science and technology advising. STAS was created in 2000 by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in response to a 1999 study by the National Academy of Sciences which called for the establishment of an independent science adviser. STAS focuses on anticipating the impact of emerging science, technology, and innovation issues on foreign policy, building the State Department's capacity to engage with emerging science, technology, and innovation issues, and engaging with the science, technology, and innovation community to achieve Department goals.
STAS is typically led by the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary. Following a recommendation in a 2015 study by the National Academy of Sciences, the Adviser position was given the rank of Assistant Secretary. To date there have been six advisers: Norman P. Neureiter, George Atkinson, Nina Fedoroff, William Colglazier, and Vaughan Turekian. Matt Chessen was the acting Adviser from 2017-19. In December 2019, Mung Chiang became the Adviser.
STAS operates the State Department's science and technology fellowship programs, including the AAAS S&T Fellowships Program, the Jefferson Science Fellows Program, and professional science and engineering fellowships with the American Institute of Physics and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Under Vaughan Turekian, STAS helped found the Foreign Ministers Science and Technology Advisers Network, an international network of S&T advisers to foreign ministers and heads of State.
