42 U.S.C. § 19106 — Assistant Director

**(a) In general** The Director shall appoint an Assistant Director responsible for the management of the Directorate established under this part, in the same manner as other Assistant Directors of the Foundation are appointed. **(b) Qualifications** The Assistant Director shall be an individual, who by reason of professional background and experience, is specially qualified to— (1) advise the Director on all matters pertaining to use-inspired and translational research, development, and commercialization at the Foundation, including partnership with the private sector and other users of Foundation funded research; and (2) develop and implement the necessary policies and procedures to promote a culture of use-inspired and translational research within the Directorate and across the Foundation and carry out the responsibilities under subsection (c). **(c) Responsibilities** The responsibilities of the Assistant Director shall include— (1) advising the Director on all matters pertaining to use-inspired and translational research and development activities at the Foundation, including effective practices for convergence research, and the potential impact of Foundation research on United States societal, national and geostrategic challenges; (2) identifying opportunities for and facilitating coordination and collaboration, where appropriate, on use-inspired and translational research, development, adoption, and commercialization— (A) among the offices, directorates, and divisions within the Foundation; and (B) between the Foundation and stakeholders in academia, the private sector, including non-profit entities, labor organizations, Federal or State agencies, and international entities, as appropriate; (3) ensuring that the activities carried out under this part do not substantially and unnecessarily duplicate activities supported by other parts of the Foundation or other relevant Federal agencies; (4) approving all new programs within the Directorate; (5) developing and testing diverse merit-review models and mechanisms for selecting and providing awards for use-inspired and translational research and development at different scales, from individual investigator awards to large multi-institution collaborations; (6) assessing the success of programs; (7) administering awards to achieve the purposes described in [section 19102 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section19102&num=0&edition=prelim); and (8) performing other such duties pertaining to the purposes in [section 19102 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section19102&num=0&edition=prelim) as are required by the Director. **(d) Relationship to the Director** The Assistant Director shall report to the Director. **(e) Relationship to other programs** No other directorate within the Foundation shall report to the Assistant Director.