In a nod to the growing impact of The Catholic University of America as a research university, Executive Vice President and Provost Aaron Dominguez has been elected vice chair of the prestigious National Science Board (NSB).
The Board serves as the oversight entity for the National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent federal agency that promotes and funds research and education in science and engineering. The Board’s responsibilities include establishing policies for the NSF and serving as an independent advisory group to the President and Congress on science and engineering topics.
Earlier this year, Catholic University was named an R-1 research university, the highest tier possible, by Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education. The recognition is based on research spending levels and the number of doctorates the University grants annually.
Catholic University has a second tie to the NSB. Victor McCrary, the newly elected chair, received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1978. He currently is vice president for research at the University of the District of Columbia. Both men are members of the Knights of Columbus.
In an NSF announcement, Dominguez said, “NSF lays the groundwork for future world-changing advances – the next, next big thing, like it did for AI and Quantum. The Foundation is a key pillar of our nation’s security and strength, and I look forward to working with Chair McCrary, the Board, and NSF to ensure our nation’s prosperity and security for the next 75 years.”
Dominguez, a member of the NSB since 2020, joined Catholic University in 2014 as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. In 2019, he was named Provost. Since that time, his responsibilities have expanded to include student affairs in addition to overseeing the academic life of Catholic University’s schools, libraries, research institutes, and The Catholic University of America Press.
Also an ordinary professor of physics, Dominguez has held numerous advisory board and leadership positions, including in the L3, CDF, and CMS particle physics experiments at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland and Fermilab in Chicago. He is an author on more than 1,100 papers in experimental high energy physics and instrumentation.
More information about the National Science Board is here.