Washington

US President Bush greets Arden Bement, who supporters hope will ‘get things done’ at the National Science Foundation. Credit: P. MORSE/WHITE HOUSE PHOTO

Arden Bement, a metallurgist with a strong track record in industry, government and the academic world, has been nominated by the US president, George W. Bush, to serve as the National Science Foundation's twelfth director.

Bement is currently director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), but has been doing double duty as acting director of the US science agency since marine biologist Rita Colwell stepped down in February (see Nature 427, 665; 2004).

The 15 September nomination was made three days before a legal deadline for nominating a permanent director. It awaits confirmation by the Senate.

Bush put Bement's name forward after months of fruitless searching for a permanent replacement for Colwell, observers say. The search was hampered by uncertainty ahead of November's presidential election, as candidates did not know which president they would be serving — or even whether their nomination would stand if Bush lost.

The National Science Foundation is the main US funding agency for university research in disciplines other than biomedical science. Its directors are often chosen for their administrative experience: Colwell, an accomplished scientist with big ideas for the agency's expansion, was an exception.

Supporters of the agency are upbeat about 72-year-old Bement's appointment. “He's a team player who knows how to get things done within the government,” one science lobbyist said.

Before his four-year stint as director of NIST, Bement was head of the nuclear engineering department at Purdue University, Indiana, and had previously run research and development at TRW, a major military contractor. He is no stranger to Washington, having led the materials science programme at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and served briefly, in 1979, as head of research and development at the Pentagon.

“I'm quite eager to accept this responsibility,” Bement says. As director of the agency, he adds, he will work to bring more women and members of minority groups to the sciences. In addition, he hopes to increase the success rate for grant applications.

He also hopes to take up the appointment whoever wins the election. “Historically, the foundation has responded to the needs of science, regardless of the administration,” he says. “I would want to preserve this tradition.”

No serious opposition to Bement is likely in the Senate, but when the nomination will be confirmed remains uncertain. Congress is on a shortened schedule and is struggling to deal with more pressing nominations, and Democrats may seek to block new appointments until after the election, in case Kerry wins and wants to make his own choices.

“It is still possible that we could do the confirmation this year,” says Gayle Osterberg, a Senate spokeswoman. But others are less sanguine. “I don't know if we would confirm a dog catcher right now,” opines another Senate staffer.