Terry Carpenter, the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) chief information officer (CIO), has left his role at the agency and Clyde E. Richards has since fulfilled the role of acting CIO.
An NSF spokesperson confirmed Carpenter’s departure in an email to MeriTalk. Carpenter left the agency at the end of February, a little over a year after taking the helm of the agency’s IT office.
He was tapped to serve as the agency’s CIO and chief technology officer as part of a broader IT reorganization within the industry that included the establishment of an independent Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). The change was driven by the CHIPS and Science Act, NSF said at the time, in order to maintain momentum in developing cutting-edge technologies.
Before taking charge of the OCIO, Carpenter joined NSF in July 2023 as a senior adviser to Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.
It is not yet clear what Carpenter’s plans are following his departure from the agency.
Richards has fulfilled the role of CIO in an acting capacity since March, the NSF spokesperson also confirmed. He has served as the deputy CIO at NSF since March 2024.
Prior to joining NSF, Richards held various positions at the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, the Defense Contract Management Agency, and the U.S. Army. He also served as the director of the Army Mission Command Portfolio for the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, according to his LinkedIn.
