NSF Engineering: Transforming Our World for a Better Tomorrow

ABSTRACT: The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments, and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. In this talk by the NSF Assistant Director for Engineering, learn about NSF’s priorities, new funding opportunities, and vision for engineering.

Susan S. Margulies, Ph.D
Assistant Director of NSF, Engineering Directorate
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology and
Emory School of Medicine
GRA Eminent Scholar in Injury Biomechanics

Dr. Margulies joined NSF as the ENG AD in August 2021 after leading Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. She received her BSE in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton and PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and post-doctoral training at the Mayo Clinic. She joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in 1993 as an Assistant Professor, rising through the ranks to Professor. In 2017 she became the first faculty member tenured in both the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, and was a department Chair in the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech and in Emory’s School of Medicine.

She is internationally recognized for pioneering studies spanning the micro-to-macro scales and across species to identify mechanisms underlying brain injuries in children and adolescents, and lung injuries associated with mechanical ventilation, leading to improved injury prevention, diagnosis and treatments. Her research program has disseminated findings in over 185 peer-reviewed publications and 3 provisional patents, and her nearly 50 clinical and engineering trainees span a range of career paths, including engineering consulting, the FDA, and research in industry, academic, and start-up settings. Dr. Margulies has launched numerous training and mentorship programs for students and faculty, created institute-wide initiatives to enhance diversity and inclusion, and has led innovative projects in engineering education.

Dr. Margulies’ transdisciplinary scholarly impact has been recognized by her election the National Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Biomedical Engineering Society, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and a Member of the National Academy of Engineering.