Shirley Ann Jackson
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D., is president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, NY, and Hartford, CT. She has held senior leadership positions in government, industry, research and academe. Her research and policy focus includes energy security and the national capacity for innovation, including addressing the “Quiet Crisis” of looming gaps in the science, technology and engineering workforce, and reduced support for basic research.
A theoretical physicist, Jackson was chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 1995 to 1999. Described by Time Magazine as “perhaps the ultimate role model for women in science,” she is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Philosophical Society, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is past president (2004) and chairman of the board (2005) of the AAAS, and is a trustee of The Brookings Institution. She is a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution; on the board NYSE Euronext; and a director of IBM, FedEx, Marathon Oil, Medtronic and PSEG. Calling her a “national treasure,” the National Science Board selected her as its 2007 Vannevar Bush Award recipient for “a lifetime of achievements in scientific research, education, and senior statesman-like contributions to public policy.”
In addition to serving as university vice chairman of the Council on Competitiveness, Jackson co-chairs the Energy Security, Innovation & Sustainability initiative.