Bush lines up science adviser

Office of Science and Technology Policy

President Bush intends to nominate John Marburger III as national science adviser, the White House announced June 25.

As assistant to the president for science and technology, Marburger will also serve as director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. OSTP provides high-level advice to the White House on technology issues ranging from distance learning to security and privacy. It also coordinates with independent industry and academic research organizations, such as the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC).

Marburger has been director of the Energy Department's Brookhaven National Laboratory since 1998, and previously served as president of the State University of New York at Stony Brook 1980 to 1994 and as a professor at the university from 1994 to 1997.

He received his bachelor's degree in physics from Princeton University in 1962 and a Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford University in 1967. Most of his career has been focused on lasers and optics.

The OSTP director serves as chairman of the National Science and Technology Council, a group of federal agency leaders that coordinate the government's strategy of science and technology research and development. He also will be co-chairman of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, which is made up of private-sector experts.

Marburger replaces Neal Lane, who left OSTP in January to return to Rice University's physics and astronomy department.