Weeks after she announced she wouldn't be seeking the Republican nomination for governor next year, the National Research Council has appointed former Congresswoman Heather Wilson of Albuquerque to a committee conducting a year-long science study.

In a news release e-mailed to reporters late Wednesday, Wilson said she'll be part of a 16-member committee conducting a year-long study of "global science and technology strategies and their effect on U.S. national security."

The study is sponsored by the Defense Intelligence Agency and, Wilson said, will "examine science and technology strategies of countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China, Japan and Singapore and compare them to U.S. strategies."

The National Research Council is part of The National Academies, a private, nonprofit institution that provides science, technology and health policy advice under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.

Wilson was in Congress from 1998 until last year, representing the 1st Congressional District. She lost to Steve Pearce in last year's GOP primary for U.S. Senate. She'd been considering a run for governor for several months.