Category: Policy and Policymakers
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Lobbying for Scientists: Interview with Stephanie Vance, Part 2
Last week, I posted the first half of my interview with advocacy expert Stephanie Vance about how scientists can influence members of Congress. Here, in the second half, Vance goes into more detail about what to bring when you visit your legislator, what to say, and how to prepare. Everybody walking into a legislator’s office…
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Lobbying for Scientists: Interview with Stephanie Vance, Part 1
Speaking as a citizen of the United States, I can say that right now I am not happy with our Congress. If you’re in the U.S.A., I bet you’re not either. So I’d like to offer you an interview with advocacy expert Stephanie Vance about how we scientists can influence our legislators. Vance started her…
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We Are All Politicians Now: Science Communication and the Romney 47% Video
(This article was first published in Scientific American.) This week, presidential candidate Mitt Romney got into hot water after made some remarks at a fundraiser attended by the wealthy that seemed to denigrate middle-class and poor Americans. Similarly, last week, Bill Nye released a frank video denouncing creationism that sent some religious viewers into a…
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Marketing Your Science? Keep it Real: An Interview with Congressman Robert Walker, Part II
(This piece was originally published in Scientific American) When I speak to scientists about marketing, I like to say how important it is to “keep it real”. Pardon me while I say that again in business-speak. I like to emphasize the importance of developing long-term relationships with your customers. That means being as honest as…
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Interview with Former Congressman Robert Walker, Science Committee Chair, Part I
Congressman Robert Walker represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from 1977 to 1997. He’s has taken an interest in helping scientists understand Congress, and he invited me to his marble office building on K Street in Washington DC to interview him. That’s what I am lucky enough to offer…
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Marketing for Scientists: The Book
In 1995, the Endangered Species Act was in deep political trouble. The House of Representatives was considering a bill that would cut sixteeen million dollars from the endangered species activities of the Fish and Wildlife Service and completely abolish the National Biological Service. The speaker of the house, Newt Gingrich, was saying that it made…
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Hungry for Jobs and for Change, Scientists Join the Occupy Movement
Traffic backed up along Baltimore’s inner harbor last week as protestors from the “Occupy” movement waved signs and shouted at the passing drivers. And among the protestors were scientists and science students, unhappy with their job prospects, their funding prospects, and the way science is viewed in America. I had heard about the protests on…
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A Note From John Marburger
Scientists, His health failing, Dr. John H. Marburger III (who also goes as Jack) stepped down from his post as Vice President for Research at Stony Brook University last month. Samuel Stanley, the president of Stony Brook, made the official announcement yesterday. “Words cannot express my genuine gratitude to Jack for his wisdom and friendship…
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Interview with former NSF Director Rita Colwell
Rita Colwell served as the 11th Director of the National Science Foundation from 1998-2004. But before that, she was known internationally as an expert on marine bacteria; she earned a Ph.D. from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1961 for work on bacteria commensal to marine animals. Subsequently, she helped discover that the bacteria responsible for Cholera…