Dr. George O. Strawn

"Change: The Constant of Modern Times"

Presented Monday, March 6, 2006
3:30 p.m. - Fiedler Hall Auditorium

George O. Strawn is the chief information officer of the National Science Foundation where he guides the agency in development and design of innovative information technology.

Since joining the NSF in 1991, Dr. Strawn has served in numerous roles including directorate for computer and information science and engineering, executive officer, and acting assistant director. From 1995 through 1998, he was director of the division of advanced networking infrastructure and research where he led efforts in the Presidential Next- Generation Internet Initiative, which created the first national high-performance network test bed.

From 1983 to 1986, Dr. Strawn served as chair of the computer science department at Iowa State University. Under his leadership, the program was among the first in the nation to be accredited by the Computer Science Accreditation Board. From 1986 to 1995, he served as director of the ISU Computation Center during which time Iowa State became a charter member of the regional NSFNET network, MIDnet.

Dr. Strawn currently serves as co-chair of both the interagency Large-Scale Networking Working Group and the international Coordinating Committee for Intercontinental Research Networks. He also served as co-chair of the interagency Federal Networking Council from 1995 to 1997.

He has held several positions in the computer industry and has worked as an information technology consultant. He holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from Iowa State University and an undergraduate degree from Cornell College.