Innovation Anywhere, Opportunities Everywhere: President’s Lecture Series Welcomes Director of National Science Foundation

Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian(opens in new window) hosted Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), for a distinguished lecture and fireside chat on Friday, Oct. 11, as the latest installment of the university’s President’s Lecture Series(opens in new window). 

In his talk, titled “Innovation Anywhere, Opportunities Everywhere: Accelerating the Frontiers of Science and Technology,” Panchanathan emphasized the importance of fostering innovation across all regions and communities to address global challenges and advance scientific and technological frontiers. His vision, he expressed, is to create opportunities everywhere by ensuring innovation can thrive anywhere, ultimately contributing to a better future for all.

“For far too long, domestic talent has been substituted by global talent in our country. This is not an acceptable future for any nation, particularly the United States. So therefore, we need to make sure that we unleash every ounce of talent that is in the country everywhere, across the broad socioeconomic demographic, across rural/urban divides, across the rich diversity of the nation,” he said.

After discussing the NSF’s initiatives to support groundbreaking research and education aimed at empowering the next generation of scientists and innovators, Panchanathan addressed the CMU students in the audience, telling them they are the “best of the best of the best” in the country, and therefore they have a responsibility to “make sure our country always remains the best” so it can lift up other countries across the globe. 

Specifically, he asked that they each take a pledge to personally mentor and open doors for 25 individuals over their lifetime and give those individuals the opportunity to realize their full potential and talent.

“Remember, you are here because you are the lucky, chosen ones. You had the opportunities. Yes, you are smart, but please don’t think that there aren’t people smart like you, or smarter than you. They didn’t have the opportunities,” he said. 

In addition to highlighting the need to leverage diverse talent and ideas from various backgrounds to drive innovation, Panchanathan stressed the importance of collaboration across disciplines, something he noted CMU does very well.

“(Carnegie Mellon University) is really an amazing institution, where there is seamless working of people across disciplines. People talk about it everywhere; you have it as part of your DNA. This is phenomenal, what I see — how a chemist works with a computer scientist, with a mechanical engineer, with a biophysicist — without worrying about ‘what does it mean for me’ in terms of credit. That truly is a testament to the leadership and the faculty of this institution,” he said. “It’s unbelievable what you’re doing here in terms of actually having an impact, in terms of moving the needle across the nation.”

Panchanathan expressed his appreciation for the NSF’s partnership with CMU, and for “the many, many things we have been able to do together, and right here,” he said. 

He cited the softbotics lab in Scaife Hall led by Carmel Majidi(opens in new window), professor of mechanical engineering, as an example. Majidi will lead a research thrust in a new multi-institutional collaboration that has received $26 million from the NSF to launch an Engineering Research Center dedicated to revolutionizing the ability of robots to amplify human labor. The softbotics lab was one of several labs he visited on his campus tour prior to the event. 

“Carmel and the students, what they’re doing in softbotics, is mind-boggling. As a researcher in haptics myself, I saw what was going on, and I’m like, ‘wow!’ This is what you hope for,” he said.

During the fireside chat, Jahanian asked Panchanathan to share career advice for students, which he framed as “the Ten I’s” to make it easy for them to remember.

“For all of us, our journey starts with an inspiration. So continue to inspire people, and continue to stay inspired. When you have inspiration, you’ll have great ideas. That’s the second ‘I’. Whenever you see a problem, don’t complain; make it into an idea,” he said. 

Third and fourth, he said, ideas require both an interdisciplinary and international view of the work. 

“And you have to make sure you are working with intentionality and intensity. If you don’t have those, you cannot have the progress you want to make,” he said.

He assured the audience if they have all those, investment will follow.

“When you have the investment, you’ll find innovative solutions. That is what’s going to have the impact,” he said.

And finally, never lose the “I can do” spirit, he said.

“There is so much in this world that can bring you down. Pick up the phone first thing in the morning, look at the news? Never let that get you down. I can do this, and I will do this. I have to do this,” he said. “With that ‘I,’ you will be successful no matter what. Nobody can hold you back.”