 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | May 11, 1976; 49 years ago (1976-05-11) |
| Preceding agency |
|
| Headquarters | Eisenhower Executive Office Building 725 17th Street NW,Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Employees | 130 |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | Executive Office of the President |
| Website | WhiteHouse.gov/OSTP |
| Part ofa series on the |
| United States space program |
|---|
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National security space |
TheOffice of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is a department of theUnited States government, part of theExecutive Office of the President (EOP), established byUnited States Congress on May 11, 1976, with a broad mandate to advise thepresident on the effects ofscience and technology on domestic and international affairs.
The director of this office is traditionally colloquially known as thescience advisor to the president. A recent appointed director was mathematician and geneticistEric Lander who was sworn in on June 2, 2021.[1] Lander resigned February 18, 2022, following allegations of misconduct.[2]
On February 16, 2022, theBiden administration announced that deputy directorAlondra Nelson would serve as acting director and formerNational Institutes of Health (NIH) directorFrancis Collins would serve as acting science advisor. Both assumed positions on February 18, 2022. In October 2022,Arati Prabhakar became Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.[3][4] The most recentMichael Kratsios became Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy on March 25, 2025.[5]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2020) |
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PresidentRichard M. Nixon eliminated thePresident's Science Advisory Committee after his second Science Advisor,Edward E. David Jr., resigned in 1973, rather than appointing a replacement. In 1975, theAmerican Physical Society presidentChien-Shiung Wu met with the new presidentGerald Ford to reinstate a scientific body of advisors for the executive branch and the president, which President Ford concurred to do.[6] The United States Congress then established the OSTP in 1976 with a broad mandate to advise the President and others within the Executive Office of the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs. The 1976 Act also authorizes OSTP to lead inter-agency efforts to develop and to implement sound science and technology policies and budgets and to work with theprivate sector,state andlocal governments, the science andhigher education communities, and other nations toward this end.
Under PresidentDonald Trump, OSTP's staff dropped from 135 to 45 people.[7] The OSTP director position remained vacant for over two years, the longest vacancy for the position since the office's founding.[8][9][10]Kelvin Droegemeier, anatmospheric scientist who previously served as the vice president of research at theUniversity of Oklahoma, was nominated for the position on August 1, 2018[11] and confirmed by the Senate on January 2, 2019.
Michael Kratsios was nominated by President Trump to be the fourthChief Technology Officer of the United States and associate director of OSTP in March 2019[12] and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on August 1, 2019.[13] During Trump's tenure, Droegemeier also managed theNational Science and Technology Council.
PresidentJoe Biden named, and the Senate later unanimously confirmed,[14]Eric Lander as head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, while also upgrading the position to acabinet-level post.[15] Lander resigned in February 2022 following reports that engaged in abusive conduct against both subordinates and other White House officials.[16]
In 2022, The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy held a roundtable discussion with some of the nation’s leading scientists to discuss the need to combat the climate crisis and counter arguments for delaying climate action. It is the first time that the White House has recognized scientists who study the climate denial operation run by the fossil fuel industry.[17]
On August 8, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law theCHIPS and Science Act which included a provision to create ablockchain andcryptocurrency specialist advisory position under the OSTP to be established and appointed by the Director.[18]
On August 25, 2022, OSTP issued guidance to make all federally funded research in the United States freely available without delay.[19][20]
Key positions vary among administrations and are not always published online.[21]
List of OSTP directors.[25]
Denotes acting capacity. |
| No. | Image | Name | Start | End | Ref. | President | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Guyford Stever | August 9, 1976 | January 20, 1977 | Gerald Ford (1974–1977) | ||
| 2 |  | Frank Press | January 20, 1977 | January 20, 1981 | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) | ||
| – |  | Benjamin Huberman Acting | March 5, 1981 | August 1981 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) | ||
| 3 |  | Jay Keyworth | August 1981 | December 1985 | |||
| – | | John McTague Acting | January 1986 | May 23, 1986 | |||
| – | | Richard Johnson Acting | May 24, 1986 | October 1, 1986 | |||
| 4 |  | William Graham | October 2, 1986 | June 1989 | |||
| – | | Thomas Rona Acting | June 1989 | August 1989 | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) | ||
| – | | William Wells Acting | August 1989 | August 1989 | |||
| 5 | .jpg) | Allan Bromley | August 1989 | January 20, 1993 | |||
| 6 | .jpg) | Jack Gibbons | January 20, 1993 | April 3, 1998 | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) | ||
| – |  | Kerri-Ann Jones Acting | April 4, 1998 | August 3, 1998 | |||
| 7 |  | Neal Lane | August 4, 1998 | January 20, 2001 | |||
| – |  | Rosina Bierbaum Acting | January 21, 2001 | September 30, 2001 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) | ||
| – | | Clifford Gabriel Acting | October 1, 2001 | October 28, 2001 | |||
| 8 |  | Jack Marburger | October 29, 2001 | January 20, 2009 | |||
| – | | Ted Wackler Acting | January 20, 2009 | March 19, 2009 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) | ||
| 9 |  | John Holdren | March 19, 2009 | January 20, 2017 | [26] | ||
| – | | Ted Wackler Acting | January 20, 2017 | January 11, 2019 | [27] | Donald Trump (2017–2021) | |
| 10 |  | Kelvin Droegemeier | January 11, 2019 | January 20, 2021 | [28] | ||
| – | .jpg) | Kei Koizumi Acting | January 20, 2021 | June 2, 2021 | Joe Biden (2021–2025) | ||
| 11 |  | Eric Lander | June 2, 2021 | February 18, 2022 | [29][30] | ||
| – | .jpg) | Alondra Nelson Acting | February 18, 2022 | October 3, 2022 | [31] | ||
| 12 |  | Arati Prabhakar | October 3, 2022 | January 20, 2025 | [4] | ||
| – |  | Michael Kratsios | January 20, 2025 | March 25, 2025 | [32] | Donald Trump (2025–present) | |
| 13 | March 25, 2025 | present | [33] | ||||
