Ligler to chair panel for National Academies of Science

Dr. Frances Ligler, Lampe Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Joint NC State-UNC Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been selected to chair the Panel on Review of the Material Measurement Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The purpose of the panel is to evaluate the Materials Measurement Laboratory — an organization of approximately 900 people — in terms of technical quality, scientific expertise, and adequacy of facilities and effectiveness of output dissemination.

Of the 22-member panel, 12 members have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering; one panel participant is also a member of the National Academy of Science.

As chair of the panel, Ligler will ensure the evaluation is constructive and comprehensive and that the report is prepared on time and adequately revised after review. She will present the results to the director of NIST and House Science and House Appropriations Committees as requested.

Until 2013, Ligler was the Senior Scientist for Biosensors and Biomaterials at the US Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, she is currently working in the fields of biosensors and microfluidics. She has also performed research in biochemistry, immunology, and biomaterials engineering.

The panel meetings will be held in April and June at NIST. The writing and presentation of results will continue through the summer and fall.