Anna Quider
NIU’s Anna Quider will play a leading role this year in advocating for federal research funding to the nation’s universities.
Quider, NIU’s director of federal relations, recently was elected president of the board of directors for the Science Coalition, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization representing more than 50 of the nation’s leading public and private research universities. In addition to NIU, organization members include Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Boston University, Notre Dame, Penn State and the University of Illinois.
Based in Washington, D.C., the Science Coalition is dedicated to sustaining the federal government’s investment in basic scientific research as a means to stimulate the economy, spur innovation and drive America’s global competitiveness. As president, Quider will be responsible for leading the organization’s strategic direction and operational management. Her one-year term began Jan. 1.
“My goal is to encourage robust federal investments in fundamental research through creative, strategic communications and initiatives that showcase the importance of this research for all Americans and position the United States as a global leader in scientific discovery,” Quider said.
Federal funding is the primary source of support for fundamental research conducted at higher education institutions across the United States. In addition to the discoveries and innovations they generate, university research labs foster the education and training of the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators who are in high demand across numerous industries.
“The work of the Science Coalition is important because federal investment in fundamental research fuels innovation that saves and improves lives, creates jobs and leads to economic growth,” said Quider, who also serves on to the Executive Committee of the Council on Governmental Affairs (CGA) for the Association of Public Land-grant Universities (APLU).
Quider took on the role of NIU’s federal relations director in 2014 and has served on the Science Coalition Board of Directors for the past two years. She is well-versed on the topic of science, having earned bachelor’s degrees in physics and astronomy, in religious studies and in the history and philosophy of science at the University of Pittsburgh. She holds a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Cambridge, where she was a Marshall Scholar.
In the past, Quider has served as a principal investigator on a Hubble Space Telescope research project and as an elected member-at-large on the Executive Committee of the Forum on Physics and Society, a unit of the American Physical Society. She also worked previously on international science issues at the U.S. Department of State.
“We’re thrilled that Dr. Quider has taken on this leadership role with the Science Coalition,” said Jerry Blazey, vice president of NIU’s Division of Research and Innovation Partnerships. “Her work with the Science Coalition benefits our nation’s scientific community, while naturally offering opportunities to raise NIU’s profile.”
