Trump nominates AI experts for key science positions

Incoming US President Donald Trump has selected Silicon Valley executive Michael Kratsios as director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Kratsios will also serve as Trump’s science advisor, a position that, unlike the OSTP directorship, does not require approval by the US Senate. Meanwhile, computer scientist Lynne Parker from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has been appointed to a new position – executive director of the President’s Council on Advisors on Science and Technology. Parker, who is a former member of OSTP, will also act as counsellor to the OSTP director.

Kratsios, with a BA in politics from Princeton University, was previously chief of staff to Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel before becoming the White House’s chief technology officer in 2017 at the start of Trump’s first stint as US president. In addition to his technology remit, Kratsios was effectively Trump’s science advisor until meteorologist Kelvin Droegemeier took that position in January 2019. Kratsios then became the Department of Defense’s acting undersecretary of research and engineering. After the 2020 presidential election, Kratsios left government to run the San Francisco-based company Scale AI.

Parker has a MS from the University of Tennessee and a PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both in computer science. She was founding director of the University of Tennessee’s AI Tennessee Initiative before spending four years as a member of OSTP, bridging the first Trump and Biden administrations. There, she served as deputy chief technology officer and was the inaugural director of OSTP’s National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office.

Unlike some other Trump nominations, the appointments have been positively received by the science community. “APLU is enthusiastic that President-elect Trump has selected two individuals who recognize the importance of science to national competitiveness, health, and economic growth,” noted the Association of Public & Land Universities – a membership organisation of public research universities — in a statement. Analysts expect the nominations to reflect the returning president’s interest in pursuing AI, which could indicate a move towards technology over scientific research in the coming four years.

• Bill Nelson – NASA’s departing administrator – has handed over a decision about when to retrieve samples from Mars to potential successor Jared Isaacman. In the wake of huge cost increases and long delays in the schedule for bringing back samples collected by the rover Perseverance, NASA had said last year that it would develop a fresh plan for the “Mars Sample Return” mission. Nelson now says the agency had two lower-cost plans in mind – but that a choice will not be made until mid-2026. One plan would use a sky crane system resembling that which delivered Perseverance to the Martian surface, while the other would require a commercially produced “heavy lift lander” to pick up samples. Each option could cost up to $7.5 bn – much less than the rejected plan’s $11 bn.