Vaughan Turekian is the Executive Director of the National Academies’ Policy and Global Affairs Division (PGA). Prior to joining the Academies, Dr. Turekian served as the fifth Science and Technology Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State. In this capacity, he advised the Secretary of State and other senior State Department officials on international environment, science, technology, and health matters affecting the foreign policy of the United States.

He is currently the co-chair of the 10 member group of advisers to the U.N. secretary general on the role of science, technology, and innovation to advance the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. He has affiliations with Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the University College London.

From 2016 to 2017, he served as a country co-chair, along with the Kenyan Ambassador to the United Nations, for the Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals, a high-level discussion at the United Nations designed to accelerate progress toward globally agreed upon development targets. In 2018, Dr. Turekian was appointed by the U.N. Secretary General as one of the ten international members to promote the role of science, technology, and innovation for achieving for the 17 SDGs.

Previously, he was Chief International Officer for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Director of AAAS’s Center for Science Diplomacy (2006 – 2015). In this capacity, he worked to build bridges between nations based on shared scientific goals, placing special emphasis on regions where political relationships are strained. In addition, Dr. Turekian worked at the State Department as a Special Assistant and Advisor to the Under Secretary for Global Affairs (2002 – 2006) on issues related to sustainable development, climate change, environment, energy, science, technology, and health. He also served as Program Director for the Committee on Global Change Research at the National Research Council (2000 – 2002), where he was study director for a White House report on climate change science.

Dr. Turekian holds a B.S. in Geology and Geophysics and International Studies from Yale University and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia where he focused on the transport and chemistry of atmospheric aerosols in marine environments. Dr. Turekian not only brings both technical expertise and over 15 years of policy experience to the position, but also a decorated track-record and steadfast commitment to utilizing our nation’s capital science and technology innovation to advance the long-term sustainability and U.S. diplomacy.