Trump appoints Oklahoma professor to lead science policy office

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s appointment of a University of Oklahoma professor as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is being cheered by a leading scientific society.

The White House announced Tuesday that the office will be directed by Kelvin Droegemeier. He is vice president for research and the regents’ professor of meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. He also serves as Oklahoma Cabinet secretary of science and technology.

The chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Rush Holt, applauded Droegemeier’s appointment and said his experience working in bipartisan fashion and across many parts of the government will serve the president and the nation well.

Droegemeier spent 12 years on the National Science Board under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.