SESSION IV: How AIP and its Member Societies Can Capitalize on Opportunities in Energy Research and Climate Research

Francis Slakey

APS Public Affairs
Georgetown University

Maybe This, Maybe That

Abstract
Some Administrations are easier to influence than others. When Edward VII ruled England, his standard was: "It doesn't matter what you do, just don't frighten the horses." This talk will discuss how APS is tapping its members expertise and working with Congress and the Administration on energy and climate issues.

Brief Bio
Francis Slakey received his PhD in Physics in 1992 from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is the Associate Director of Public Affairs for the American Physical Society where he oversees APS legislative activities. He is also the Upjohn Professor of Physics and Biology at Georgetown University where he founded and Co-Directs the Program on Science in the Public Interest at Georgetown University. His technical publications have received more than 500 citations. He has also written widely on science policy issues, publishing more than fifty articles for the popular press including The New York Times, Washington Post, and Scientific American. He has served in advisory positions for a diverse set of organizations including the National Geographic, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Creative Coalition - the political advocacy organization of the entertainment industry. He is a Fellow of the APS, a MacArthur Scholar, and the Lemelson Research Associate of the Smithsonian Institution.

Dr. Slakey became the 28th American to summit Mt. Everest in an unguided expedition that was the subject of the movie "Beyond the Summit" narrated by Sharon Stone. After a planned surfing trip to a remote beach in Norway, he will become the first person to have ever summited the highest mountain on every continent and surfed every ocean. In recognition of his adventures, as part of the 2002 Olympic Games, he carried the Olympic torch from the steps of the US Capitol.