James J. Duderstadt is president emeritus and university professor of science and engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA. He joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1968, became dean of the College of Engineering in 1981, and provost and vice president for Academic Affairs in 1986. He was appointed president of the University of Michigan in 1988, and served in this role until July, 1996. Dr. Duderstadt has served on and/or chaired numerous public and private boards including the National Science Board; the Executive Council of the National Academy of Engineering; the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy of the National Academy of Sciences; and the Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee of the Department of Energy. He currently chairs several major national study commissions in areas including federal science policy, higher education, information technology, and engineering research. Dr. Duderstadt received a Ph.D. in engineering science and physics from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. He served on the faculty of Salzburg Seminar Universities Project Symposium 9, The Responsive and Innovative Russian University: Universities and their Role in National and Regional Development, in 1999.