The congressionally mandated committee consists of diverse academics, industry, government, and non-profit representatives. They advise the NSF on ways to broaden opportunities for women, minorities, and disabled people in science, engineering, and related field.

“Science and engineering are not only pathways to excellent, impactful careers. They also are fields that wield enormous influence over our lives. It is more important than ever before that we ensure all voices are included in the discovery and application of science,” Husbands Fealing said. “This appointment gives me an excellent platform to continue pressing the case I have made in my research.”

Husbands Fealing, an economist who previously chaired the Georgia Tech School of Public Policy, was first appointed to the committee in 2018. She specializes in science and innovation policy, the public value of research expenditures, and the underrepresentation of women and minorities in STEM fields.

She has researched and published on the need to broaden the diversity of opportunity in STEM fields. In 2012, Academic Medicine published a paper she co-authored on the topic, “Changes in the Representation of Women and Minorities in Bio-Medical Careers.” In 2015, she co-authored a paper, “Pathways vs. Pipelines to Broadening Participation in the STEM Workforce,” examining why women and minorities are underrepresented in scientific research careers. In 2016, Husbands Fealing co-organized the NSF’s Symposium on the Science of Broadening Participation. She also co-edited a special edition of American Behavioral Scientist in 2018 that was inspired by the event. In 2019, she was co-author of an award-winning paper that examined the causes behind gender-based pay gaps in federal science agencies.