On April 29, 2013, President Barack Obama addressed the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences on the occasion of the NAS 150th anniversary.
The Academy was established in 1863 through a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln. It is a private, nonprofit organization charged with providing independent, objective advice to the U.S. government on matters related to science and technology.
Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1991, Dr. John P. Holdren began serving as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in 2009. He is also Co-Chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
