Winter 2010 Fellowships Focus

Winter 2010 Fellowships Focus

Director's Corner

It is a pleasure to present this inaugural edition of the new, improved, and now online Fellowship Focus. As the Science & Technology Policy Fellowships grow and evolve, our goals for this publication are to:

  • keep current and former Fellows, fellowship supervisors, mentors, and liaisons, selection committee members, and others informed of plans and progress;
  • share the experiences of Fellows and outputs from their projects and activities;
  • highlight the roles and contributions of mentors and supervisors;
  • and call attention to opportunities for Fellows and others in our network to engage with AAAS and the S&T Policy Fellowships.

Cynthia Robinson - Director, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships

Current & Former Fellows

  • Learning the realities of federal policymaking | Justin Grubich | State Department
    On July 6, 2009, Justin Grubich was featured in "Hooked: Vampire Fish" on National Geographic Channel. He embarked on an expedition in the Amazon Basin to investigate the dental diversity of two unique fishes with extreme jaw anatomy-- the Pacu, a cousin of the piranha, and the Payara, or “vampire fish,” nicknamed for its two-inch fangs. By studying their bite mechanics, Justin learned how these river monsters are specifically adapted to their ecosystem and how continued development and pollution of the Amazon River will impact their future. To view the images on National Geographic's website, click here.
  • Developing projects for Iraqi scientists and engineers | Ben Brodsky | State Dept.
  • From neuroscience research to the Summit of the Americas | Frances Colón | State Dept.
  • A doctor in the halls of diplomacy | Jessica Eisner | State Dept.
  • Global connections to address climate change | Teresa Leonardo | USAID
  • From lasers in the lab to IEDs on the battlefield | Christophe L. McCray | DoD
  • A national “culture of preparedness” | Doug Meckes | DHS
  • Encountering the President amid the pyramids | Sandra Scham | USAID

Mentors & Supervisors

Fellowship Updates

New Fellowship Area: DSD

The Diplomacy Fellowships have been merged with the National Defense & Global Security Fellowships (NDGS) to create a singe new thematic focus called Diplomacy, Security & Development (DSD). This allows us to take advantage of the overlap that already existed among these two programs both from a perspective of international activity and the foci on a broad range of security issues. This change also clarifies the range of opportunities that already existed in what was formerly simply called Diplomacy, but included development, foreign aid, and international capacity building. This first issue of the Fellowship Focus highlights just a few of the current and former S&T Policy Fellows who have been active in critical issues in diplomacy, security and development.

A Record Year for Applications

With an eight percent increase in the number of eligible applications across the four fellowships areas, it was a banner year. More than 650 eligible applications for the 2010-11 AAAS Fellowships are now being evaluated by 140 former Fellows in the first round of review. This is a huge and critical task, and we extend our thanks to the former Fellow volunteer “readers” assisting us this year.