caption predecessor successor death_date birth_place president death_place party office birth_date term_start image article_title term_end name alma_mater
portrait of john marburger , c. 2001 neal francis lane john holdren 28 july 2011 staten island , new york george w. bush port jefferson , new york democratic party director of the office of science and technology policy february 8 , 1941 2001 john marburger official portrait.jpg john marburger
 2009 john marburger princeton university stanford university
john marburger

john harmen marburger iii -lrb- february 8 , 1941 -- july 28 , 2011 -rrb- was an american physicist who directed the office of science and technology policy in the administration of president george w. bush , serving as the science advisor to the president .
his tenure was marked by controversy regarding his defense of the administration against allegations from over two dozen nobel laureates , amongst others , that scientific evidence was being suppressed or ignored in policy decisions , including those relating to stem cell research and global warming .
however , he has also been credited with keeping the political effects of the september 11 attacks from harming science research -- by ensuring that tighter visa controls did not hinder the movement of those engaged in scientific research -- and with increasing awareness of the relationship between science and government .
he also served as the president of stony brook university from 1980 until 1994 , and director of brookhaven national laboratory from 1998 until 2001 .
