Diane Souvaine, Professor of Computer Science and former Vice Provost for Research at Tufts University, recently completed twelve years of service on the National Science Board, to which she was appointed by President Bush in 2008 and reappointed by President Obama in 2014. She served as Vice Chair from 2016-2018 and as Chair from 2018-2020. Earlier, she chaired NSB’s Committee on Strategy and Budget and its Committee on Programs and Plans, and served on its Committee on Audit and Oversight, all of which provide strategic direction, oversight. and guidance on National Science Foundation projects and programs. She joined the CHM Board of Trustees in July 2018 and currently serves on the Executive Committee and as Chair of the Compensation Committee. Also a Trustee of TERC since 2017 she serves on the Finance committee and on the Compensation Committee.
Prior to Tufts, Diane held a faculty appointment at Rutgers University for 12 years. During her tenure at Rutgers, she served for 2.5 years in the Directorate of NSF’s Science and Technology Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS), a groundbreaking academic/industry collaboration of Princeton, Rutgers, Bell Labs, and Bellcore. DIMACS is tasked with both the theoretical development of mathematics and computer science and their practical applications.
Diane’s research contributions range from solving challenging problems in computational geometry to practical application across disciplines. Her research led to consulting engagements with corporations such as Exxon Chemical Research, IBM, and Pfizer. In addition to her scientific and policy contributions, Diane is dedicated to increasing diversity and advancing women and underrepresented groups in mathematics, science, and engineering and works to enhance pre-college education in mathematics and computational thinking.
Diane is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM). She received her Ph.D. in computer science from Princeton University, a Master’s degree from Dartmouth College, and her undergraduate degree with a dual concentration in English and in mathematics from Harvard University.
