NSF Launches ERVA Consortium

LSU ME Professor Michael Khonsari Serving as Council Member

April 9, 2021

BATON ROUGE, LA – To help the United States stay at the forefront of research and innovation—and maintain its leadership in the global economy—the National Science Foundation Directorate for Engineering has launched the Engineering Research Visioning Alliance, the first engineering research vision organization of its kind.

Funded with a five-year, $8 million award from the NSF, the initiative convenes and enables the engineering community to identify nascent opportunities and priorities for engineering-led innovative, high impact, cross-domain research that addresses national, global, and societal needs. Its structure includes several principal investigators, a 10-person Advisory Board, and a 35-member Standing Council, which provides critical input for visioning activities.

One member of the standing council is LSU Professor of Mechanical Engineering Michael Khonsari.

“NSF is truly a trendsetting agency that invests in the future of science and engineering,” Khonsari stated. “It is an honor to serve as a member of ERVA’s Standing Council to provide feedback to NSF in pursuit of tackling global challenges that face our society.”

ERVA was created to provide the engineering community with a process for identifying bold and societally impactful engineering research directions that will place the United States in a leading position to realize a better future for all. It is an engaged, inclusive, multilayered partnership that provides a diverse array of voices with the opportunity to impact national research priorities. Professoinal societies and associations with aligned goals may become ERVA Affiliate Partners, and individuals are also invited to participate as ERVA Champions. This includes the general public; students at all levels; researchers, faculty and deans in small and large college engineering programs; and interested parties in industry, from engineers to CEOs.

“Engineering has the power to transform people’s lives, especially when it brings to bear a diversity of knowledge, perspectives, and experience to solve important problems,” said NSF Assistant Director for Engineering Dawn Tilbury. “Through ERVA, NSF wants the engineering community to come together to find ideas that will unite us, develop road maps for cutting-edge research agendas, and lead to game-changing impacts on our world.”

Click here to learn more about ERVA.

 

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