1st Quarter 2013, Fellowship Focus
Commemorating Four Decades of S&T Policy Fellowships
In the forty years since the Science & Technology Policy Fellowships® were established, much has changed. In 1973, the U.S. launched its first space station, Skylab, President Nixon passed the Endangered Species Act, and the first handheld cellular phone call was made in New York City. Policymakers and federal agencies were dealing with exponentially evolving technologies and scientific developments. It was clear that a new generation of scientists and engineers dedicated to and knowledgeable about public policy would be valuable to progress.
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40@40
In recognition of the milestone of our 40th anniversary, we're highlighting 40 S&T Policy Fellows, one from each class. We will announce ten fellows in each quarter of 2013. We're calling this project 40@40!
The fellows are selected from more than 2,600 alumni. They represent many accomplishments and the broad diversity of the program, including an array of fellowship placements, disciplines, backgrounds, and sectors. With so many alumni there is much to be proud of. Selecting only 40 is a challenging task.
We are pleased to present the first decade of 40@40. Click here to read about them and hear brief podcasts about their fellowship experiences and current work.
We welcome nominations for fellows from the later decades to spotlight based on the 40@40 criteria. Please include the full name, title and contact information for nominees, and no more than three paragraphs about them and your endorsement. Send your recommendations to fellowships@aaas.org.
We look forward to hearing about the ongoing efforts and accomplishments of S&T Policy Fellows. The second decade 40@40 will be announced in the next issue of Fellowship Focus.
Activities
Commemoration Gathering May 3
An event to commemorate the 40th anniversary will be held on Friday, May 3. Alumni fellows, colleagues from our partner societies, host agencies and offices, and other stakeholders who contribute to the S&T Policy Fellowships will be invited to join in an evening tribute to 40 years of monumental experiences, fundamental contributions and substantial results.
Art of Science Policy Exhibit Opening July
An exhibit of art symbolizing science and policy milestones over the past 40 years will be on view in the AAAS art gallery July through September 2013. An evening program and reception will be held. Details on date and time will be announced on the S&T Policy Fellowships website and in the next issue of Fellowship Focus.
Anniversary Video
The AAAS Office of Public Programs produced a video featuring eight alumni of the S&T Policy Fellowships to celebrate the 40th anniversary. They represent just a tiny sample of four decades of fellowship assignments and the broad range of backgrounds, disciplines, achievements and current employment of fellows. The video is narrated by alumna Frances Colon, a 2008-10 fellow at the State Department who is now deputy S&T advisor to the Secretary of State. Watch the 40th anniversary video now!
Distinguished Speaker Series
As part of the 40th anniversary activities we will feature four prominent speakers discussing science-policy issues. Click here to register and mark the dates for the first three events on your calendar now:
April 10: Norman J. Ornstein
Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute. Aut hor and co-author of numerous books, including the 2012 title- It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism (with Thomas E. Mann), and author of a weekly column for Roll Call, "Congress Inside Out."
June 27: Moises Naim
Senior Associate, International Economics Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; chief international columnist for El País, Spain's largest newspaper. Author of numerous books, including the 2013 acclaimed The End of Power.
August 12: Lisa Perez Jackson
12th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2009 to 2013. Chemical engineer and former Commissioner of Environmental Protection of New Jersey from 2006-2008.
Updates
New Application Deadline - November 1
The deadline for the AAAS S&T Policy Fellowships executive branch and congressional applications has been changed to November 1. The call for applications will now be open from May 1 to November 1 each year. Please contact the AAAS S&T Policy Fellowships staff with questions: fellowships@aaas.org
FellowsCentral is Live
The online portal for communication, connection and collaboration among current and alumni S&T Policy Fellows has launched! The value of FellowsCentral is proportionate to the amount of information that fellows put in. We encourage fellows to login regularly to update profile details, highlight policy interests, areas of specialization, publications, and other information. And, to use the database of S&T Policy Fellows to exchange resources, find experts, foster alliances, and support colleagues' efforts. Sharing information is critical to collective benefit.
Programs Tap Alumni Experience
The knowledge and networks gained via the Washington, DC-based S&T Policy Fellowships is valued globally. Understanding of U.S. federal policy, process and practice can contribute significantly in international settings. To take advantage of this, AAAS has partnered with USAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to establish programs that tap alumni experience to inform S&T initiatives around the world.
USAID Overseas Fellowships
In the 2011-12 fellowship year AAAS collaborated with USAID to re-launch the Overseas Fellowships with placements at U.S. Missions in countries around the world. The program had been on hiatus since 2005; it restarted with three fellows in Egypt, Indonesia and Madagascar. In the 2012-13 fellowship year, 10 alumni fellows are now serving at eight USAID Missions and regional offices, primarily in Africa and Asia. They include assignments in Cambodia, Mozambique, Indonesia, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Thailand, and Jordan.
In addition, a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has created the Global Health & Development (GHD) Fellowships. The program places S&T Policy Fellowship alumni at the Gates Foundation in Seattle, Washington, where they foster science and technology-related initiatives. The primary emphasis is to identify and support opportunities for strategies and programs where S&T can be harnessed to advance development in designated countries or regions. In this inaugural year of the program two GHD Fellows are in assignments at the Gates Foundation.
The Overseas Fellowships and the GHD Fellowships both provide assignments up to two years. The programs are open to S&T Policy Fellowship alumni who are within six years of completion of a Congressional or Executive Branch fellowship.