Rebecca Shearman
Program Director, NSF Engines - Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) | Division of Innovation and Technology Ecosystems (ITE) | Innovation Programs Section
Biography
Dr. Shearman is a program director in the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). She oversees a portfolio of initiatives aimed at advancing technological innovation and in workforce development in areas critical to national and global interests. Included in her portfolio is the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program, which catalyzes innovation ecosystems across the United States by fostering economic growth and technological advancement at the regional level. She also stood up the NSF Enhancing Partnerships in Inclusive and Innovative Communities (EPIIC) program, which focuses on capacity building initiatives at non-R1/R2 universities (including MSIs and 2-yr intuitions) and the NSF ExLENT (Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies) program, which provides inclusive experiential learning opportunities to increase access to career pathways in emerging technology fields.
Before her tenure at NSF, Dr. Shearman was an associate professor at Framingham State University; she earned her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Art in Biology at Franklin and Marshall College.