I bumped into the beginning of what appears to be a great series of articles chronicling a University of Michigan grad student's short policy adventure in DC.
Erica Lanni, an organic-materials chemist, is taking part in the
CSPO policy workshop and writing up her experiences at
AnnArbor.com. It is good stuff.
But earlier this year, the more I began to think about my future, the more questions I started having about how science is made. For example, the National Science Foundation funds my research, but who decided we should get those research dollars? Who influences how the government makes decisions about science policy? And who is keeping the public informed about where taxpayer money is going? Also, I wanted to know how I could contribute to and influence discussions of science policy. Could I spend part of my summer exploring these questions?
Science is a valuable investment—it helps create new industries, improves health and enhances security. The U.S. has also long been a leader in the scientific enterprise, in part due to strong government programs and because of impressive investment by private industries, particularly in development. Although we continue to do about a third of the world's investment in research and development, other nations are rapidly expanding their programs. To remain competitive with other nations and to stimulate our own growth, I think it is encouraging our government plans to increase funding for basic research, and I am optimistic that we will see valuable returns from the investment.
I will try to keep track of her DC adventure and will update as she writes.
Also, I had never heard of the "Science outside the lab" workshop. It sounds like a great opportunity.
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<div>Hello! I'm the author of those posts and I wanted to thank you for your kind words about my work! I am still in the process of writing up more about my experiences in Washington, D.C. I'll also be giving presentations at the University of Michigan about the CSPO program later this summer. The program also got me very excited about careers in public policy, and I'd be very interested on learning more about ACS's policy activities. If you have a moment, please contact me, I'd love to talk more!</div>
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