STAS focuses on anticipating the impact of emerging science, technology, and innovation issues on foreign policy, building the State Department's capacity to engage with emerging science, technology, and innovation issues, and engaging with the science, technology, and innovation community to achieve Department goals.
Following a recommendation in a 2015 study[4] by the National Academy of Sciences, the Adviser position was given the rank of Assistant Secretary.
To date there have been seven advisers: Norman P. Neureiter, George Atkinson, Nina Fedoroff, William Colglazier, Vaughan Turekian and Mung Chiang.
[9] Patricia Gruber was the sitting Science and Technology Advisor, appointed September 2023; however, the position was prematurely terminated in January of 2023 by order of the Trump administration.
[10] STAS operates the State Department's science and technology fellowship programs, including the AAAS S&T Fellowships Program, the Jefferson Science Fellows Program, and professional science and engineering fellowships with the American Institute of Physics, Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technologies, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.