6-Jun-08 5:00 PM EST

Getting involved in Science Policy

If you are interested in getting more involved in science policy I ask you to try this strategy,

- call your Representative or Senators in their local district office,
- ask if they have a science adviser or some kind of science advisory committee.

In most cases the answer will be no.When you get that answer, or even if the answer turns out to be yes,offer to volunteer in their office as an adviser on science and technology matters.

Why the district office? Because through the district office you will avoid the "noise" of Washington, DC. By contacting the district office you will make it clear that you are one of their direct constituents, and that you are interested in science policy issues. Most members of the House and Senate would welcome the expertise of an actual scientist on their staff or volunteer pool, and physicists are especially well-regarded on the Hill. In the Congress, science is at least one topic that is handled in a bi-partisan, or maybe even non-partisan basis. You will be surprised by the impact you will have.

The policy pages at the NSBP website have background information on some of the current issues in science policy. There are several other information sources available including products from the American Institute of Physics, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and our other sister societies.

Please feel free to contact the NSBP Office for more information and support, and please let me know how this works out for you.

Peter J. Delfyett, Ph.D.
President, National Society of Black Physicists