Goyal appointed to National Academies Committee to advise NSF on its Materials Genome Initiative

by Nicole Capozziello

This committee will examine the impact of the National Science Foundation’s program 'Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer Our Future (DMREF)' with the goal of furthering the nation's vision for the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI). It will evaluate the program’s goals, progress, and scientific accomplishments within the context of similar efforts both within the U.S. and abroad.

High-level, strategic recommendations will be provided to take full advantage of existing and future opportunities for accelerating the progression of materials research. Specific key issues to be addressed by the committee include:

• Incorporating into its efforts the full scope and breadth of materials research and engaging with the greater scientific and engineering community;
• Accessing resources in relevant parts of the NSF and in coordinating with other federal agencies that participate in the Materials Genome Initiative;
• Responding to new opportunities in data-related sciences, including the application of artificial intelligence;
• Accelerating the progression of fundamental materials research toward eventual deployment and manufacturing; and
• Attracting and developing an innovative and diverse talent pool.

Goyal, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, is a SUNY Distinguished Professor and SUNY Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and has an adjunct position in the Department of Physics at the University at Buffalo.  

He was the Founding Director of UB’s RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water) Institute from January 2015 to July 2021.  Some of his accomplishments include hiring of 19 multidisciplinary scholars including four Empire Innovation Professors as well as senior scientific staff, and establishing cutting-edge Shared Instrumentation Laboratories for RENEW.  During this period, RENEW directly and indirectly contributed to garnering tens of millions in external funds to UB and facilitated nearly 600 publications. In 2019, Goyal received the University at Buffalo’s President’s Medal in recognition of extraordinary service to the university.

Goyal is a member of the National Materials and Manufacturing Board (NMMB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.  He is also a member of the National Academies Panel for reviewing the NIST Materials Measurement Laboratory and the National Academies Panel for reviewing the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in the area of materials science.

He serves on the Fellows Advisory Committee of the National Academy of Inventors, the Scientific Advisory Board of the Center for Nanomaterials at Argonne National Laboratory, the Board of Governors for the New York Sea Grant and is a member of the National Academies Intelligence Science and Technology Experts Group.

Goyal is an elected Fellow of ten diverse professional societies: the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Materials Research Society (MRS), the American Physical Society (APS), the American Society of Metals (ASM), the American Ceramic Society (ACERS), the Institute of Physics (IOP), the World Innovation Foundation (WIF), and the World Technology Network (WTN).