Cornelius Francis "Neal" Lane (born August 22, 1938), is an American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and senior fellow in science and technology policy at Rice University's

Baker Institute for Public Policy The Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy (formerly known as the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy) is an American think tank housed on the campus of Rice University in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1993, it functions as a ...

and Malcolm Gillis University Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy Emeritus at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. He has served as

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs The University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) is a public research university in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is one of four campuses that make up the University of Colorado system. As of Fall 2023, UCCS had over 11,000 students, incl ...

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

, and

Science Advisor to the President The science advisor to the president is an individual charged with providing advisory opinions and analysis on science and technology matters to the president of the United States. The first science advisor, Vannevar Bush, chairman of the Office of ...

(Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and director of the

Office of Science and Technology Policy The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is a department of the United States government, part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, Executive Office of the President (EOP), established by United States Congres ...

(OSTP) during the

Bill Clinton Administration Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

). Lane lectures and writes on matters of

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

and

technology policy There are several approaches to defining the substance and scope of technology policy. According to the American scientist and policy advisor Lewis M. Branscomb, technology policy concerns the "public means for nurturing those capabilities and op ...

Biography

Early life

Lane was born in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

in 1938, graduated from Southeast High School, and earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. His thesis advisor was Chun Chia Lin.

Research, teaching and administration

Initially pursuing a career in teaching and research, Lane carried out post-doctoral studies in the Department of Applied Mathematics at

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland, studying with Professor

Alexander Dalgarno Alexander Dalgarno FRS (5 January 1928 – 9 April 2015) was a British physicist who was a Phillips Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University. Biography Alexander Dalgarno was born in London in 1928, and spent his childhood there. He was ed ...

, and as a visiting fellow at the

Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics JILA, formerly known as the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, is a physical science research institute in the United States. JILA is located on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. JILA was founded in 1962 as a joint institute ...

(currently JILA), working with Dr. Sydney Geltman. He joined

as an assistant professor in 1966 and was promoted to full professor of physics, space physics, and astronomy in 1972. His research contributions were all in the area of

theoretical A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

, atomic, and

molecular physics Molecular physics is the study of the physical properties of molecules and molecular dynamics. The field overlaps significantly with physical chemistry, chemical physics, and quantum chemistry. It is often considered as a sub-field of atomic, mo ...

, with an emphasis on electronic and atomic collision phenomena. On leave from Rice for the academic year 1979–1980, Lane served as director of the Division of Physics at the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

(NSF). In 1984 he became

of the

, which was developing new graduate programs in science and engineering in response to the growing technology industry in the Pikes Peak region. Returning to Rice as

in 1986, Lane served in this role until 1993, when he joined the Bill

Clinton Administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...

as director of the

NSF NSF may stand for: Political organizations *National Socialist Front, a Swedish National Socialist party *NS-Frauenschaft, the women's wing of the former German Nazi party * National Students Federation, a leftist Pakistani students' political g ...

and ''ex officio'' member of the

National Science Board The National Science Board (NSB) of the United States establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President of the United States, president and the United ...

National Science Foundation

As Director of the

from 1993–1998, Lane focused on preserving the agency's emphasis on supporting fundamental research in all fields of science, mathematics and engineering. During Lane's tenure, the NSF was required to develop a formal long-range strategic plan in accordance with the

Government Performance and Results Act The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) () is a United States law enacted in 1993,Congress, U. S., and An Act. "Government Performance and Results Act of 1993." In ''103rd Congress. Congressional Record''. 1993. one of a series ...

(GPRA) of 1993. The NSF plan avoided prescriptive quantitative metrics and retained a discipline-based organization focused on funding excellent basic research, with expert peer review evaluation as the main criterion for success. On the programmatic side, the agency realigned and re-competed the NSF Supercomputer Centers, in response to rapid changes in scientific computing, and the NSF Science and Technology Centers. NSF also established the CAREER program for young investigators and began implementation of the first federal agency electronic system for proposal submission and review. During Lane's tenure, the

created the major research equipment budget line, which supported several construction projects, including the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), the first

GEMINI Gemini most often refers to: * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Gemini (astrology), an astrological sign Gemini may also refer to: Science and technology Space * Gemini in Chinese astronomy, the Gemini constellat ...

telescope, and the new Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Station, part of the U.S. Antarctic Program. In response to employee needs, NSF established the first child-development center for its personnel. In April 1998, at one of Lane's last

Congressional hearings A United States congressional hearing is the principal formal method by which United States congressional committees collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking. Whether confirmation hearings (a procedure uniqu ...

as NSF Director, when asked to speculate on the future, he said: ''"If I were asked for an area of science and engineering that will most likely produce the breakthroughs of tomorrow I would point to nanoscale science and engineering, often called simply 'nanotechnology'."''

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

In August 1998, Lane was appointed President Bill Clinton's science advisor, a dual position as assistant to the president for science and technology and director of the White House OSTP, the latter requiring Senate confirmation. As assistant to the president for science and technology, Lane also served as the federal co-chair of the President's Committee on Science and Technology (PCAST). As science advisor to

President Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the att ...

, Lane worked to promote the administration's science and technology initiatives and, specifically, championed the advancement of basic scientific research in the U.S. During Lane's tenure, the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

OSTP dealt with policies related to

stem cell research In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...

food safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, food processing, preparation, and food storage, storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a simi ...

missile defense Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear weapon, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic mi ...

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, the

U.S. space program The space policy of the United States includes the making of space policy through the legislative process and the implementation of that policy in the U.S. civilian and military space programs through regulatory agencies. The early history of U.S ...

. (e.g., launch of the first elements of the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

), and the

Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international scientific research project with the goal of determining the base pairs that make up human DNA, and of identifying, mapping and sequencing all of the genes of the human genome from both a ...

, (e.g., release of the first draft sequence of the

human genome The human genome is a complete set of nucleic acid sequences for humans, encoded as the DNA within each of the 23 distinct chromosomes in the cell nucleus. A small DNA molecule is found within individual Mitochondrial DNA, mitochondria. These ar ...

), the

National Nanotechnology Initiative The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is a research and development initiative which provides a framework to coordinate nanoscale research and resources among United States federal government agencies and departments. History In the lat ...

, and international cooperation in science and technology.

Current work

Serving until the end of the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...

, Lane returned to

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

in 2001 as the institution's first university professor, also serving as professor of physics and astronomy and senior fellow of Rice University's

. He retired from his faculty positions as Malcolm Gillis University Professor and professor of physics and astronomy on January 1, 2015. Lane continues to serves as senior fellow in science and technology policy at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and co-director of the Baker Institute's Science and Technology Policy Program alongside Dr. Kirstin R.W. Matthews. The Baker Institute is a top-ranked university-affiliated nonpartisan

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

with research programs in

energy policy Energy policies are the government's strategies and decisions regarding the Energy production, production, Energy distribution, distribution, and World energy supply and consumption, consumption of energy within a specific jurisdiction. Energy ...

;

health policy Health policy can be defined as the "decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society".World Health Organization''Health Policy'' accessed 22 March 2011(archived 5 February 2011) According ...

; tax and expenditure policy;

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

studies; drug policy;

international economics International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns an ...

;

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

and

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

s; religion policy;

space policy Space policy is the political decision-making process for, and application of, public policy of a state (or association of states) regarding spaceflight and uses of outer space, both for civilian (scientific and commercial) and military purposes ...

; and

and

. The Science and Technology Policy Program aims to develop an active dialogue between scientists and citizens; to propose funding allocations for scientific and biomedical research, environmental policy, and

science diplomacy Science diplomacy describes how scientific exchanges and the cross-border collaboration of scientists or scientific organizations can perform diplomatic functions in the context of international relations. Most often this diplomacy happens as part o ...

; and to instruct on scientific public policy endeavors. Lane has worked with Matthews on numerous projects, including the International Stem Cell Policy Initiative and the Civic Scientist Initiative. Lane continues to lecture, provide Congressional testimony, meet with students, scholars and leaders in education, business and public policy. He also serves on

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

boards and advisory committees that focus on science and technology, science and mathematics education, and federal policy. He co-chaired (with

Norman Augustine Norman Ralph "Norm" Augustine (born July 27, 1935) is a U.S. aerospace businessman who served as United States Under Secretary of the Army from 1975 to 1977. Augustine served as chairman and CEO of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. He was chairm ...

, retired chairman and CEO of

Lockheed Martin Corp The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North Bethesda, Mary ...

.) a study of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

that led to the 2014 report "Restoring the Foundation – The Vital Role of Research in Preserving the American Dream. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Journal of Science Policy & Governance.

Personal life

Neal Lane is married to Joni Sue (Williams) Lane. In 2015, they celebrated their 55th anniversary. They have two children, Christy Saydjari and John Lane, and four grandchildren, Allia and Alexander Saydjari, and Matthew and Jessica Lane.

Awards

* Two-time recipient of George R. Brown Prize for Superior Teaching at

(1973, 1976) * Distinguished Service Award,

National Association of Biology Teachers The National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) is an incorporated association of biology educators in the United States. It was initially founded in response to the poor understanding of biology and the decline in the teaching of the subjec ...

(1997) * President's Award,

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

(1999) * Public Service Award,

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

(1999) * Support of Science Award, Council of Science Societies Presidents (2000) *

AAAS Philip Hauge Abelson Prize The AAAS Philip Hauge Abelson Prize is awarded by The American Association for the Advancement of Science for public servants, recognized for sustained exceptional contributions to advancing science or scientists, whose career has been distinguishe ...

(1999) * NASA Distinguished Service Award (2000) * William D. Carey Lecture Award,

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

(2001) * Public Service Award,

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

, American Astronomical Society, and American Physical Society (2001) * Distinguished Alumni Award,

(2002) * K.T. Compton Medal for Leadership in Physics,

American Institute of Physics The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...

(2009) * National Academy of Sciences

Public Welfare Medal The Public Welfare Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "in recognition of distinguished contributions in the application of science to the public welfare." It is the most prestigious honor conferred by the academy. First awar ...

(2009) * Association of Rice Alumni Gold Medal (2009) * Distinguished Friend of Science Award from the

Southeastern Universities Research Association The Southeastern Universities Research Association, Inc. (SURA) is a non-profit association with member universities from the United States and Canada. SURA is focused on advancing science, research, and educational discovery. SURA is the parent ...

(2011) *

Vannevar Bush Award The National Science Board established the Vannevar Bush Award ( ) in 1980 to honor Vannevar Bush's unique contributions to public service. The annual award recognizes an individual who, through public service activities in science and technology ...

from NSF's National Science Board (2013) * Lifetime Achievement Award from the

(2016)

Selected publications

* Neal Lane, "Benjamin Franklin, Civic Scientist", in ''Physics Today'', vol. 56, no. 10, p 41 (October 2003) * Lane, "U.S. Science and Technology – An Uncoordinated System That Seems to Work" in special issue "China, India and the United States," of the journal ''Technology in Society'', vol. 30, Nos 3–4 August–November 2008, pp 248–263 (Elsevier, NY, and Science Direct, 2008) * Neal Lane and Tom Kalil, "The National Nanotechnology Initiative: Present at the Creation", ''Issues in Science and Technology'', XXI, Number 4 (Summer 2005), pp 49–54 (National Academies, Washington D.C.) * Neal Lane, "Science in the seat of power," in ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'', issue July/August 2008, page 48. * Neal Lane, "Essay: American Physics, Policy, and Politics: An Uneasy Relationship," ''Physical Review Letters'', vol. 101, 31 December 2008, pp. 260001–260009. http://journals.aps.org/prl/edannounce/PhysRevLett.101.260001 * Neal Lane and George Abbey, "United States Space Policy: Challenges and Opportunities Gone Astray," American Academy of Arts and Sciences (occasional paper) (Cambridge, Mass., 2009). * Neal Lane and Kirstin Matthews, "The President's Scientist" in ''Cell'' 139, pp 847–850 (Nov. 25, 2009) * Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Neal Lane and Kenneth M. Evans, "U.S. Scientific Research and Development 202", in "Science Progress" (July 23, 2011, on-line) http://scienceprogress.org/2011/07/u-s-scientific-research-and-development-202/ * Neal Lane, "Science Policy Tools: Time for an Update", in ''Issues in Science and Engineering'' (National Academies Press, Fall 2011, pp 31–38) .http://www.issues.org/28.1/lane.html * Neal Lane and Rahul Rekhi, "Qualitative Metrics in Science Policy: What Can't be Counted Counts," in ''Issues in Science and Engineering'' (National Academies Press, Fall 2012, pp 21–24) http://www.issues.org/29.1/rahul.html * Norman Augustine and Neal Lane, "What if America had a Plan for Scientific Research?" ''Inside Sources'', on-line –April 28, 2014 * A.A. Rosenberg, L.M. Branscomb, V. Eady, P.C. Frumhoff, G.T. Goldman, M. Halpern, K. Kimmell, Y. Kothari, L.D. Kramer, N.F. Lane, J.J. McCarthy, P. Phartiyal, K. Rest, R. Sims, and C. Wexler, "Congress's Attacks on Science-Based Rules: Proposed Laws Based on False Premises Could Undermine Science for the Public Interest," ''Science'', pp 964–966, vol. 348, issue 6238, 2015.

References

External links

Biography
from Rice University
Guide to the Neal Lane papers, 1964-2002
from the Woodson Research Center at Rice University * Neal Lane'
CV from the Baker Institute web page
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Neal Francis 1938 births 21st-century American physicists Clinton administration personnel Fellows of the American Physical Society Living people United States National Science Foundation officials People from Oklahoma City Rice University faculty University of Colorado Colorado Springs faculty University of Oklahoma alumni Directors of the Office of Science and Technology Policy