Amid increasing global competitiveness, the task force will identify challenges and opportunities facing science and technology in the United States and lay out actions for future prosperity. It is an initiative of the Science and Technology Action Committee (STAC), a nonpartisan group of nonprofit, academic, foundation, and corporate leaders working to strength U.S. science and technology.
STAC says VAST aims to provide a road map to U.S. policymakers to ensure that the American science and technology enterprise remains at the forefront. Leaders of the task force plan to share a draft with the incoming presidential administration and Congress during the transition period and then release a final version in February.
“There is a critical need to continue to invest in the science and technology infrastructure and pipeline,” Villarruel says. “The VAST Task Force brings together a diverse set of perspectives to inform policies and partnerships to ensure discoveries can lead to a safe and healthy environment for all.”
“It is an honor to serve with a distinguished group working to identify ways for science to continue to serve the interests of the nation,” Jamieson says.
Villarruel is the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing and director of Penn Nursing’s World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership. Villarruel leads Penn Nursing to meet its core mission of advancing science, promoting equity, and demonstrating practice excellence. As a bilingual and bicultural researcher, Villarruel has extensive research and practice experience with Latino populations, health promotion, and health equity.
She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, member of the National Academy of Medicine and the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and chair of the National Academy of Medicine’s Culture of Health Program Advisory Committee. Villarruel has received numerous honors and awards, including the 2021 Health Care Leader Award from the American Academy of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame Award, and Globy Award for Educational Leadership from the Global Philadelphia Association.
Jamieson is the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication and director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. Jamieson co-founded FactCheck.org and its science-focused initiative, SciCheck; has authored or co-authored 18 books; co-edited “The Oxford Handbook of the Science of Science Communication” (2017); and co-edited the forthcoming book “Realizing the Promise and Minimizing the Perils of AI for Science and the Scientific Community” (2024, Penn Press).
The 2020 recipient of the National Academy of Sciences’ Public Welfare Medal, Jamieson is also a member of the board of directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; Distinguished Scholar of the National Communication Association; and member or fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society, American Academy of Political and Social Science, and International Communication Association.
The work of the VAST task force is supported by the Simons Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Rita Allen Foundation, and Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group.
When the Schuylkill swallowed the city: Lessons from Hurricane Ida’s historic flood
New Penn research shows that Hurricane Ida wasn’t a once-in-a-century anomaly but a preview of how climate change, urbanization, and aging infrastructure are rewriting flood risk.
The Fed explained: What it does and why it matters
Former Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and financial historian Peter Conti-Brown, both Wharton professors, unpack the central bank’s origins, its unusual structure, and the quiet ways it shapes the economy
How population changes are impacting primary education worldwide
Research from Penn sociologist Emily Hannum and colleagues reveals regional trends in whether school-age populations are increasing, plateauing, or decreasing—and shows how different countries are responding.
A bioengineered bean gum from the lab of Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell is found to reduce the levels of three microbes associated with head and neck squamous cell cancer to almost zero, without affecting the beneficial bacteria normally found in the mouth.
Fighting oral cancer with bioengineered chewing gum
Research led by Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell shows that antiviral and antibacterial chewing gums reduce the levels of three microbes linked to worse outcomes in oral cancers, paving the way for more effective and affordable therapies.
