Introduction of the 2006-2007 Jefferson Science Fellows

The event is on the record and is open to all press. Press will be escorted to the Benjamin Franklin Room at 3:30 p.m. from the 23^rd Street lobby, and returned to the C Street lobby after the event.

Media representatives may attend this event upon presentation of one of the following credentials: (1) a U.S. Government-issued identification card (Department of State, White House, Congress, Department of Defense, or Foreign Press center), (2) a media-issued photo identification card, or (3) a letter from their employer on letterhead verifying their employment as a journalist, accompanied by an official photo identification (driver’s license or passport).

The Jefferson Science Fellows program is an initiative established in October 2003 by Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary, Dr. George Atkinson, to continue elevating the role of science and technology in U.S. foreign policy. The program brings five to ten tenured professors each year from the American academic community for one-year assignments at the Department, followed by a five-year consultancy after returning to their academic careers. The program is supported by generous grants from the MacArthur Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation on a three-year pilot basis, in addition to financial support from participating American universities. A broad range of professional societies and organizations have also endorsed the program.

The Jefferson Fellows are chosen through a competition administered by the National Academy of Sciences. They are selected for their scientific achievements, articulation and communication skills, abilities to accurately describe scientific topics for non-scientific audiences, and their interest in science and engineering policy. Through their participation in policy discussions, the Fellows help increase understanding among policy officials of scientific and engineering fields, and advise policy makers on the wider international implications of important emerging scientific issues. In this capacity, they bring valuable knowledge from their university and professional networks to bear on the work of the Department and, through the Department, to the wider U.S. government science and technology community.

The six 2006-2007 Fellows come from these universities: Columbia University; George Mason University; The Pennsylvania State University; The Ohio State University; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

For further information, please contact: Pete Kelly, Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary, at (202) 647-8725, or Susan Povenmire, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, at (202) 647-3486.