Joan Petersilia, Adelbert H. Sweet Professor of Law and faculty co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, has been named to the new Science Advisory Board of the U.S. Office of Justice Programs (OJP). The board aims to connect research and practice within the criminal justice field, using an evidence-based approach to crime, according to a statement by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who announced the panel’s creation in November. A nationally recognized criminologist with more than 25 years of experience studying U.S. criminal justice agencies, Petersilia will join a group of 18 scholars and practitioners in providing an extra-agency review of and recommendations for OJP research, statistics, and grant programs, ensuring that the programs and activities are scientifically sound and pertinent to policymakers and practitioners.