Alice Petry Gast (born May 25, 1958) is the 13th President of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She is Lehigh's first female president.[1]
Born in Houston, Texas, Gast graduated as valedictorian from the University of Southern California in 1980 with a B.Sc. in chemical engineering.[1] She completed her postgraduate work at Princeton University, receiving a M.A. (1981) and Ph.D. (1984) in chemical engineering,[1] and was a Hertz Fellow. She spent a postdoctoral year completing a NATO fellowship at the École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles in Paris.[2] From 1985 to 2001 she taught at Stanford University, and then moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she served as the Vice President for Research and Associate Provost until her appointment to Lehigh in 2006.[1]
Gast is married to Bradley J. Askins, a computer scientist. They have two children, Rebecca and David.[1]
Gast is not the first Lehigh President recruited from MIT. In 1895 they invited Thomas Messinger Drown to take the Presidency, for whom Drown Hall is named.[1]
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The focus of Gast's distinguished research career was the study of surface and interfacial phenomena, in particular the behavior of complex fluids. Her areas of research include colloidal aggregation and ordering, protein lipid interactions, and enzyme reactions at surfaces. She is the co-author of Physical Chemistry of Surfaces, a classic textbook on colloid and surface phenomena, and has presented named lectures at several of the nation's leading research institutions.
Gast serves on a number of national advisory committees and boards, including the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), is a member of the Academic Research Council for the Singapore Ministry of Education and the National Research Council Committee for Science, Technology, and the Law. She is a member of the AAAS, the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the American Physical Society.
In recognition of her achievements, Gast has received numerous awards and honors including the NAS Award for Initiatives in Research, the Colburn Award of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2001 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002. She was named an AAAS Fellow in early 2007.
In October, 2008, Gast was named one of the top 100 "Modern Era" engineers in the country, under the category of "Leadership" by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.[3]
In 2006, Gast co-chaired (with Jacques S. Gansler, Vice President for Research, University of Maryland) a non-partisan committee that produced an extensive report on "Science and Security in a Post 911 World: A Report Based on Regional Discussions Between the Science and Security Communities Committee on a New Government" (University Partnership for Science and Security) that was published by the National Academy of Sciences.[4]
Gast and Gansler co-authored an op ed in the July 11, 2008 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, citing a concern that the unintended effects of restrictive federal government policies on scientific research include impeding the nation's ability to be economically competitive and defend itself against potential threats.
They wrote: "It's time for researchers and intelligence officials to work together and devise policies that strike the appropriate balance between science and security. Toward that end, our committee recommends that the federal government establish a standing entity, preferably a high-level Science and Security Commission chaired by the national-security adviser and the director of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy."[5]
In March 2009, Gast authored an op ed that appeared in Science magazine, in which she sounded a note of caution in the way that the short-term funding for scientific research contained in the U.S. economic stimulus package will be spent.
"Transformative change requires long-term investment in the nation's intellectual infrastructure," she wrote. 'Shovel-ready' makes sense for getting people to work on deferred infrastructure needs, but how does it relate to the scientific research and education programs needed to address the many challenges looming before us?"
Long-term research and education provide innovative, creative discoveries that spur transformative change, Gast noted. "The United States needs to start making the down payment on this exploration, knowing that the needed breakthroughs cannot be generated within the next two years. As science funding agencies begin awarding their one-time money, they must be mindful of the sustainability of their programs. The recent signing of the fiscal year 2009 omnibus bill with its 4.7% increase for agencies funding science and technology R&D is a welcome sign. Maintaining that momentum in the coming years will be essential."[6]
In mid-April, 2009, Gast moved forward on a commitment to the environment by pledging to make environmental sustainability and climate change an institutional priority at the university. Gast signed the Lehigh University Climate Commitment[7] at an Earth Day celebration.
The Climate Commitment will create institutional policies and procedures to manage the development and implementation of a university-wide plan that affirms Lehigh's commitment to protect and improve the environment through its teaching, research, faculty, student and staff service, and administrative operations.
In signing the Climate Commitment, Gast said that safeguarding the environment is an issue the Lehigh community aggressively embraces. [8]
In February 2011, a 16-member panel of scientists led by Gast released a report after reviewing the scientific evidence related to the FBI investigation of the anthrax letters mailed in the aftermath of 9-11. Anthrax spores contained in the letters were mailed across the country and were responsible for killing five people and sickening 17 others.
The panel found that it is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion about the origins of the anthrax in letters based on the science alone.
“We find the scientific evidence to be consistent with their conclusions but not as definitive as stated,” Gast said during a news conference in Washington, D.C. She emphasized that this case rested on the complex interface between science and the law enforcement investigation.
The panel convened in 2008 after the FBI asked the National Research Council to form a group to conduct an independent review of the scientific approaches, methodologies and analytical techniques used in its investigation and to determine whether the FBI reached appropriate scientific conclusions.
The FBI’s investigation connected the letter materials to a flask in the lab of a researcher at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). The panel reviewed 9,600 pages of material before determining that it could not rule out that there were other sources of the anthrax spores.
Panelists whose expertise included microbiology, medicine, physical chemistry, biochemistry and forensic science were not asked to judge the law enforcement investigation.[9][10]
| Preceded by Gregory C. Farrington |
President of Lehigh University 2006–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |