Recent Appointments

Purdue Science and Tech Scholar Fouché Heads NSF Social and Economic Sciences Division

March 21, 2022 1351

Rayvon Fouché, the director of the American studies program at Purdue University and a science and technologies studies scholar whose high-profile work often looks at the connection of sport and technology, has taken the reins of the National Science Foundation’s Social and Economic Sciences Division. At the division, one of four within the NSF’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, Fouché oversees more than a dozen research programs focused on society and the economy.

headshot of Rayvon Fouché

Fouché, who replaced Daniel Goroff in the permanent role on February 28, serves as division director through NSF’s rotator program, which recruits U.S. scientists, engineers and educators for limited-term leadership positions of up to four years. Goroff, who had been on loan from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation where he is a vice president and program director, served from 2019 to 2021.

The division supports both disciplinary and interdisciplinary programs along with large-scale scientific surveys such as the national Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Some of the disciplines the division routinely interacts with include decision, risk and management sciences; economics; law and social sciences; methodology, measurement and statistics; political science; science of organizations; science, technology and society; and sociology. More than 70 percent of the researchers who have won the Nobel Prize in economic sciences received support from the division.

Fouché earned his doctoral and master’s degrees in science and technology studies from Cornell University. His research focuses on the nature of invention and technological innovation in the U.S. He has written several books including Game Changer: The Technoscientific Revolution in Sports, which explores the impacts of technological and scientific advances on athletes and competitive sports, and Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation.

His current research continues to explore the nexus of sport, race and technology, including such projects as Afrofutureneering and the intimacies of sporting authenticity; the material culture of sporting authenticity; and sneakers and the commodification of Black History Month.

Related Articles

The Future of Business is Interdisciplinary 
Interdisciplinarity
September 5, 2024

The Future of Business is Interdisciplinary 

Read Now
Felice Levine to Leave AERA in 2025
Announcements
June 25, 2024

Felice Levine to Leave AERA in 2025

Read Now
Karine Morin Takes Helm of Canada’s Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Announcements
June 20, 2024

Karine Morin Takes Helm of Canada’s Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Read Now
Nominations Open for 2025 Sage-CASBS Award
Announcements
June 12, 2024

Nominations Open for 2025 Sage-CASBS Award

Read Now
Opportunity to Participate in RFI on Proposed National Secure Data Service

Opportunity to Participate in RFI on Proposed National Secure Data Service

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, scientific collaboration and diplomacy are key when trying to effectively address the […]

Read Now
Public Interest Attorney Bryan Stevenson to Receive 2024 Moynihan Prize

Public Interest Attorney Bryan Stevenson to Receive 2024 Moynihan Prize

Public interest attorney Bryan Stevenson, the founder and executive director of the Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative, will receive the 2024 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize from the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

Read Now
Young Explorers Award Honors Scholars at Nexus of Life and Social Science

Young Explorers Award Honors Scholars at Nexus of Life and Social Science

Aiming to spur greater connections between the life and social sciences, Science magazine and NOMIS look to recognize young researchers through the NOMIS and Science Young Explorers Award.

Read Now
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments