TIP Leadership Update
Dear friends,
I write today to share a leadership update that is both a cause for celebration and reflection: Gracie Narcho, who has served as deputy assistant director and directorate head for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) since its founding, is retiring from the U.S. National Science Foundation this month after more than three decades of extraordinary and impactful service.
Gracie has been a defining force in building NSF TIP into what it is today. Even before this directorate had a name or authorizing legislation, she was laying the foundation for what it would eventually become. In fact, without her efforts in dreaming up what a new innovation-focused organization at NSF could look like and accomplish, this directorate may not have come into being and certainly would not have been as successful as it has been.
When Congress established TIP in 2022, Gracie's fingerprints were already all over its architecture. Her decades of work diligently shaping America's innovation landscape — by helping create, champion and advance innovative new programs and also by refining the way we fund science here at the NSF — made her an important co-author of the vision and direction of what would eventually become the TIP directorate and so many of our new initiatives, like the NSF Regional Innovation Engines, Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies, and just last week, AI-Ready America.
Throughout her career, Gracie has been a powerful change agent, and she leaves behind a lasting legacy here at the agency.
She has been an essential force for transformative change across multiple NSF directorates, including Computer and Information Science and Engineering (NSF CISE), Engineering (NSF ENG) and now TIP. As deputy and acting division director within NSF ENG, she drove policies and programs that moved federally funded research into the marketplace — including launching NSF's first pre-submission pitch process to give early-stage startups faster, more direct feedback; transitioning to NSF Innovation Corps Hubs; and helping create the NSF Non-Academic Research Internships for Graduate Students program and formalize Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry agencywide. She co-led the NSF partnerships working group, laying the groundwork for how NSF works with industry, nonprofits and other federal agencies today. In NSF CISE, she helped develop and launch landmark programs including the Global Environment for Networking Innovations, Computing Community Consortium and CSGrad4US. And earlier in her career, she negotiated NSF's first jointly funded government-industry Engineering Research Center. Each of these accomplishments reflects Gracie's institutional courage, deep commitment to public service, and ability to lead through collaboration.
Through it all, what her impressive CV cannot fully convey is the human element of Gracie's leadership. For so many across this agency, and certainly for me personally, she has been a trusted partner, collaborator and steady hand through her many years building up our nation's capacity to not only further our understanding of science, but also to put that scientific progress to work for everyday Americans all across the nation. She has mentored colleagues, built a culture where innovation and excellence go hand in hand, and championed her teams. NSF wouldn't have been able to build this directorate without her, and her tenure in public service has been a credit to the entire country.
On behalf of the entire TIP team, I want to thank Gracie for everything she has given to this directorate, to NSF, and to the mission of keeping America at the forefront of science and technology. I am immensely proud of our work together at TIP, and I am deeply grateful for her partnership and counsel over the many years I've had the opportunity to work together with her and call her a colleague, friend and mentor.
Please join me in wishing Gracie a retirement that is as full of energy, curiosity and impact as the career she leaves behind.
With warm regards,
Erwin Gianchandani
Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships
U.S. National Science Foundation
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