During his recent trip to Interlaken, Switzerland, NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan attended the Global Research Council’s annual meeting. As a focus on fostering long-term multilateral research collaborations across the globe, GRC is an important platform for researchers and funding agencies from around the world. During the meeting, Director Panchanathan led Session 1 which delved into topics surrounding sustainable research practices.
In addition to leading the session, he also presented the NSF-led Global Centers multilateral program model alongside other prominent figures in the field to an audience consisting of over 70 heads of funding agencies. This was a great opportunity for him to engage with leaders from various funding agencies worldwide to explore potential collaborations and exchange information about NSF programs, policies, and processes. Representatives from countries such as Argentina, Austria, Japan, and South Africa were present during these discussions.
During his visit, Director Panchanathan also met with Swiss Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin to highlight the shared commitment to promoting science, technology, and innovation between NSF and the Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF. The collaboration between these two organizations has been ongoing for some time now with a history of joint research initiatives and leveraging their combined expertise in cutting-edge scientific fields to drive innovation and scientific breakthroughs.
One of the highlights of his visit was a tour of CERN’s ATLAS facility. As one of the largest and most advanced particle detectors globally, ATLAS is renowned for its scientific discoveries. The collaboration between NSF and CERN has been fruitful with both organizations working together on joint research initiatives that have led to groundbreaking discoveries in particle physics.
Overall, Director Panchanathan’s visit to Interlaken was a great opportunity for him to strengthen ties with funding agencies worldwide while promoting sustainable research practices and advancing scientific knowledge through collaboration.
