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Report on the First Four Years of the AIP State Department Science Fellowship

Introduction

"Science and statecraft...can and must work together for a safer, healthier, better world," declared Secretary of State Colin Powell in an April 30, 2002 address at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, but "we still have too few officers with strong science backgrounds." Through its State Department Science Fellowship program, AIP seeks to help fill the Department’s need for scientific expertise. AIP’s Fellowship program, the first of its kind, was established in 2001, in response to concerns within the scientific community over the State Department’s ability to predict, evaluate and address issues with significant scientific and technical components. These concerns were forcefully articulated in an October 1999 report by a National Research Council panel which found that "the nation’s foreign policy agenda is constantly facing new challenges, many driven by STH [science, technology, and health] developments at home and abroad; but the culture of the Foreign Service, the Department, and indeed the foreign affairs community in general places relatively low value on STH skills."

In establishing its State Department Fellowship, AIP became the first scientific society to financially support one scientist annually to work in a bureau or office of the State Department, providing scientific expertise to inform the making of the nation’s foreign policy. Now entering its fourth year, the Fellowship program is a demonstrated success, receiving not only public praise from Secretary of State Colin Powell and other State Department officials, but supplemental funding from the Department, enabling six Fellows to participate in the program during its first three years. Additionally, the first scientist chosen as AIP State Department Science Fellow, Dr. George Atkinson, in September 2003 was named Science and Technology Adviser to Secretary Powell. AIP operates its State Department Fellowship program under the auspices of the Fellowship programs of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). AIP also currently receives an annual contribution to the Fellowship from the American Astronomical Society. Several other science and technology societies, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Chemical Society, have followed AIP’s lead and developed programs modeled after the AIP Fellowship. A new Jefferson Science Fellowship program at the State Department for tenured university faculty is also based to a large extent upon AIP’s Fellowship.

Background

In a February 6, 2001 speech at AAAS, Norman Neureiter, the then-Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State, noted that in the last decade reductions to the State Department budget, exacerbated by new responsibilities and more embassies, led to "triage" within the State Department that dramatically diminished the Department’s in-house scientific expertise at a time when scientific and technological considerations were increasingly permeating foreign policy issues. The National Research Council’s Committee on Science, Technology, and Health Aspects of the Foreign Policy Agenda of the United States, tasked with reviewing the Department’s S&T capacity, reported in 1999 that "Issues involving science, technology, and health (STH) have moved to the forefront of the international diplomatic agenda.... Precisely because STH developments are such a pervasive force, they cannot be isolated from the fundamental workings of foreign policy. The Department needs the capability to understand how technological factors influence political and economic developments."

In response, policies were implemented within the Department to enhance its S&T capacity, both in-house and through external relationships with the science community. In particular, a May 2000 report by the State Department’s Senior Task Force on Strengthening Science at State declares that the Department would "seek to identify individuals in academia and the private sector who could be brought in on a non-career basis to meet particular requirements for S&T qualified personnel." During the period of 1999 to 2000, AIP staff held discussions and conducted meetings with State Department officials to assess whether a Fellowship program similar to AIP’s Congressional Science Fellowship would be an effective mechanism for helping the State Department obtain scientific expertise on a temporary basis. The positive responses AIP received from Department officials led to the development of a Fellowship proposal and the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) establishing the program in early 2001. Although a Diplomacy Fellowship run by AAAS already existed, through which Science Fellows were supported by State Department funding, AIP was the first scientific society to propose financially supporting its own Fellows.

Fellowship selection process

The Fellowship is competitively selected, and is open to members of the 10 AIP Member Societies who are U.S. citizens and have a PhD or, in exceptional cases, equivalent research experience. The Fellow is selected by a joint committee composed of an equal number of members representing AIP and the State Department (the 2003-2004 selection committee roster is listed in Appendix C). AIP Member Societies may share in the support of the Fellowship program, and may play a role in the selection process, based on individual arrangements with AIP. The committee’s selection must be approved by the Executive Director of AIP on behalf of the AIP Governing Board. The annual selection procedure is described in detail in Appendix A.

After being selected, the Fellow works with the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser at the State Department to receive an appropriate security clearance, if necessary, and to interview with bureaus and offices within the Department to find an assignment. Fellows are not necessarily expected to work in an area in which they have prior experience. The choice of assignment is up to the Fellows, but as one of the objectives of the program is to broaden the reach and visibility of scientific expertise within the Department, they are encouraged to seek an assignment outside of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) and not part of the Department’s professional scientific and technical staff. The Fellow is also required to attend the early September two-week orientation for new Fellows run by AAAS. Fellows are generally expected to start their terms soon after the September AAAS orientation, although they may make arrangements to start earlier or later. Fellows do not act as representatives of AIP or its Member Societies during their term.

AIP provides a stipend (currently $50,000) and additional benefits for relocation, in-service travel, and health insurance reimbursement, to one AIP State Department Science Fellow annually.

Initial 2001-2002 Fellowship selection

AIP worked closely with the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary, to implement the selection process for the first AIP State Department Science Fellow as rapidly as possible. A total of 11 completed applications were reviewed, and the committee met in May 2001 to hold final interviews for the position. The committee selected George Atkinson of the University of Arizona, as the 2001-2002 Fellow. At that time, it was agreed that any additional finalists brought into the Department with State Department funding could be considered AIP Fellows if they were approved by the selection committee and if their compensation was comparable to, but did not exceed, that provided by AIP to the top-ranking Fellow. A State Department-funded position was found for a second AIP Fellow, Barrie Ripin, in the OES Office of Science and Technology Cooperation.

Atkinson, a professor of chemistry and optical sciences at the University of Arizona, served his Fellowship term working for both the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. His efforts included assessing key S&T-related issues, trends, and opinions in Europe and other regions of the world, and identifying emerging S&T issues of importance to international relations. He also worked to initiate a new "Jefferson Science Fellowship" within the State Department to enable senior-level university faculty to provide expertise and consultation. Atkinson, a member of APS, was able to make arrangements to stay on at the State Department after his Fellowship, and in September 2003 he was appointed the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State.

Ripin, a plasma physicist and president of a consulting company, spent his Fellowship in the Office of Science and Technology Cooperation of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. He has worked on the formulation and negotiation of international agreements relating to S&T cooperation. Ripin, a member of AAPT and APS, has been able to continue his work at the State Department after his Fellowship ended.

2002-2003 Fellowship selection

The selection committee evaluated 12 applications and held interviews in January 2002 to select a Fellow for the 2002-2003 Fellowship term. The committee chose as AIP Fellow Gretchen Lindsay, a project engineer with The Aerospace Corporation. Arrangements were also made to bring in a second finalist, Stefi Baum of the Space Telescope Science Institute, as another AIP State Department Fellow, funded by the Department.

Lindsay, a space physicist with military and space systems experience, and an AGU member, took leave from her job at The Aerospace Corporation to serve her term in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. Her primary focus involved formulating international cooperative R&D initiatives to promote cybersecurity within other countries. Lindsay returned to The Aerospace Corporation after a one-year Fellowship term, but continues to communicate with the Department on a regular basis to consult with and alert the Department to military-space issues where State Department involvement and an international perspective could be valuable.

Baum, who came to the Fellowship as head of engineering and software services at the Space Telescope Science Institute, spent her Fellowship in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, working on issues of biodiversity, biotechnology, genetic resources, and plant and food import/export safety. Baum, an AAS member, is a research astronomer. She remained at the State Department for a second year as an AIP Fellow, funded by the Department.

2003-2004 Fellowship selection

A total of 16 completed applications were reviewed for the 2003-2004 Fellowship. At the final interviews in January 2003, the committee selected Carol Christian of the Space Telescope Science Institute as AIP Fellow. Once again, the State Department supported an additional finalist, Edward Whittaker of the Stevens Institute of Technology, to serve as a second AIP Fellow.

Christian, a research astrophysicist and AAS member who headed Development, Technology and Innovation at the Space Telescope Science Institute, is working as an AIP Fellow in the Bureau of Information Resource Management, with the E-Diplomacy Office. Her work involves promoting and facilitating the use, within the State Department, of remote sensing and other imagery products to improve productivity and the efficient sharing of knowledge. She arranged State Department funding to continue her Fellowship for a second year.

Whittaker a professor of physics and engineering and former department head at the Stevens Institute of Technology, is a member of both OSA and APS. He used a sabbatical to serve his Fellowship in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, working on scientific and technological issues related to the control of exports under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

2004-2005 Fellowship selection

The selection committee received a total of 10 completed applications for the 2004-2005 Fellowship, and interviewed five finalists on February 4, 2004. The committee chose Steve Fetter, an APS member who is a professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Affairs and Associate Director of the Joint Global Change Research Institute. He used sabbatical leave for his Fellowship, and worked in the Office of the S&T Adviser. Fetter resigned his Fellowship, effective January 2005, for personal reasons.

Praise from the State Department

As a testament to its foresight in implementing a State Department Fellowship and to the value of the program, AIP has received public praise from Secretary of State Colin Powell, former S&T Adviser Neureiter, and current S&T Adviser George Atkinson.

Secretary Powell thanked AIP by name for its Fellowship program during his April, 2002 address to the National Academy of Sciences. "We still have far too few officers with strong science backgrounds, but thanks to the National Academies and others in the scientific community such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Institute of Physics,...a small group of scientific fellows have joined our ranks, and their number will grow.... Scientists, volunteers, have graciously put their own research on hold, stopped their own work, their own life, to perform tours of duty in many of the State Department’s bureaus, and they are making a real difference."

"AIP and its Officers and Directors deserve enormous credit for taking the initiative to become the first scientific professional society to support annually a Fellow in the Department," Neureiter wrote in June 2, 2003 correspondence with AIP. "You have established a model that has now been followed by two other societies and perhaps there will be more in the future. Furthermore you have established selection procedures and policies which have worked particularly well in attracting and identifying good candidates.... In a very real sense AIP has forged a new relationship between the U.S. science community and the Department of State. It is my hope that this will endure for a very long time."

In a June 29, 2002 letter, Atkinson commended AIP for "having the vision and confidence to assume a pioneering role in addressing the complex issues associated with the impact of science and technology on the foreign policy of the United States government."

Indicators of success

In addition to verbal and written praise of the AIP Fellowship, the State Department has demonstrated its commitment to the program by providing departmental funding for a second AIP State Department Fellow in most years, and by renewing many of these individuals for at least a second year. "This is a testimony," Neureiter wrote in June 2003, "to the high quality of the candidates that are competing for these fellowships."

In 2002, the American Astronomical Society showed its support for the program by agreeing to provide an annual contribution to the AIP State Department Science Fellowship for at least three years.

By placing Fellows in many bureaus and offices of the State Department, AIP has achieved success in its goal of raising the visibility of science and scientists throughout the Department. Current and former AIP Fellows have worked in the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser and the Bureaus of Intelligence and Research, European and Eurasian Affairs, Political-Military Affairs, Economics and Business Affairs, Resource Management, and Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. Their portfolios have included topics as varied as emerging S&T issues, European and Russian science policy and opinions, the World Summit on Sustainable Development, critical infrastructure protection, remote sensing, biotechnology, export controls, and the safety of agricultural products.

Additionally, other science and engineering societies, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Chemical Society, have followed AIP’s lead and established similar Fellowships within the State Department, using the AIP program as a model.

Analysis of fellowship selections

The number of applications reviewed in the selection process grew from 11 the first year to 12 for the 2002-3 Fellowship term, 16 for the 2003-4 Fellowship term, and then dropped to 10 for the 2004-5 Fellowship term; the decline for the 2004-5 selection may be due to earlier advertising placement. Advertising is placed in PHYSICS TODAY magazine, AGU’s EOS newsletter and OSA’s Optics and Photonics News, and on AIP’s Career Services website, and all AIP Member Society newsletter editors are provided with information on the program and asked to advertise it to their members. Brochures on the Fellowship are mailed to university physics, astronomy, and science policy graduate departments, and AIP’s Corporate Associates, as well as public policy schools and various other labs and S&T institutions. Seven AIP Member Societies have had members submit applications for the Fellowship, and, during the first four years of the program, Fellows have been members of APS, AAPT, AGU, AAS, and OSA.

Current program status

The program continues to attract applicants of high quality, who go on to make a significant contribution to the scientific and technological capacity within the State Department. Currently three of AIP’s State Department Science Fellows are working in the State Department as Fellows or in other capacities, including that of S&T Adviser to the Secretary, and a fourth remains in regular communication with the Department as a consultant.

In the future, AIP will build on lessons learned from past selections and look for new ways to increase the visibility of the program, continue to attract more outstanding applicants, and gain additional support from its Member Societies.

Prior to his departure from the position of S&T Adviser, Neureiter, "on behalf of the Secretary and the whole Department," thanked AIP for its "vision and commitment in sustaining this important program. We do believe strongly that science and technology have a major place in contemporary foreign policy."

Appendix A

Annual Fellowship Selection Process

A. Application deadline:

To complete the selection process in sufficient time for the Fellow to obtain a security clearance and interview for an assignment in the State Department before attending the AAAS orientation, completed applications are due on November 1 of the year prior to the Fellowship term applied for, and the final interviews are usually scheduled for January or February of the year in which the Fellowship term would begin. The three AIP representatives perform the initial scoring of applications and select the finalists, who are then interviewed in person by the entire committee.

B. Criteria:

According to the MOA signed by AIP and the State Department, the following requirements have been established for Fellowship applicants:

1. US citizenship.
2. A PhD or equivalent* in a technical field of AIP’s Member Societies. (*This means that in exceptional cases, the PhD requirement may be waived for applicants with compensating research experience.)
3. Membership at time of application in one or more of the AIP Member Societies.
4. Interest or experience in the scientific and technological aspects of foreign policy issues.
5. Outstanding scientific credentials.
6. Excellent interpersonal relations skills, sound judgment, and maturity in decision-making.
7. Excellent oral and written communication skills.
8. Eligibility to receive a security clearance by time of appointment.

NOTE: In general, current Executive Branch employees are not eligible to serve as AIP State Department Science Fellows while continuing to hold their original federal appointment.

C. Scoring:

The three AIP representatives on the committee evaluate the applications based on four scoring categories: Scientific Qualifications, Communications Skills, Policy Interest, and Other Considerations. Once the three AIP committee members have scored the applications, they hold a discussion, by email or conference call, to select four to six finalists to be interviewed in person, as well as one or more alternates. Those applications are sent to the State Department committee members for review.

At this time, the finalists are notified and asked to prepare a one-page briefing memo on a scientific or technological issue, of their choice, relevant to foreign policy. The memos, distributed to the committee before the final interviews, are not intended to be a major research effort, but to provide the committee members with some insight into the finalists’ communications skills and their ability to prepare and present briefly, to a non-science audience, the basic scientific facts and political dimensions of an issue and a policy recommendation.

D. Interviews:

Prior to the interviews, the committee usually plans a series of questions for each finalist, designed to evaluate the candidates’ communications skills, initiative, enthusiasm, and their ability to think quickly and determine an appropriate course of action in unfamiliar situations they might encounter as a State Department Fellow. The preparation of questions ahead of time ensures an efficient interview process and consistency across interviewees.

Each finalist is interviewed in person, by the entire committee, with interviews generally lasting 40-50 minutes. After the interviews, the committee discusses the finalists and makes a consensus recommendation to the AIP Executive Director on its first choice to be Fellow, and an alternate. This recommendation must be approved by the Executive Director, who is authorized to act for the AIP Governing Board.

The selection process is designed to select a Fellow who will reflect well on the physics community, be flexible and able to adapt quickly to the working environment of the State Department, show initiative in finding ways to contribute scientific and technical expertise to foreign policy issues, and maintain a relationship with the scientific community in order to share what he or she has learned.

Appendix B

Current and Former AIP State Department Science Fellows

2001-2002 Fellow: George Atkinson
Member Society: APS
Institution/Position When Accepted Fellowship: University of Arizona; Professor of Chemistry and Optical Sciences
Fellowship Assignment: Bureau of Intelligence and Research; Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Fellowship funding: AIP
Length of Fellowship term: One year
Current Position: Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State

2001-2002 Fellow: Barrett Ripin
Member Society: APS, AAPT
Institution/Position When Accepted Fellowship: Research Applied, Inc.; President
Fellowship Assignment: Office of Science and Technology Cooperation,
Bureau of Oceans and Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Fellowship funding: State Department
Length of Fellowship term: One year
Current Position: Senior Science Diplomacy Officer, Office of Science and Technology Cooperation, Bureau of Oceans and Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State

2002-2003 Fellow: Gretchen Lindsay
Member Society: AGU
Institution/Position When Accepted Fellowship: The Aerospace Corporation; Project Engineer
Fellowship Assignment: Office of Plans, Policy and Analysis, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Fellowship funding: AIP
Length of Fellowship term: One year; continuing consultation on a regular basis
Current Position: Senior Project Engineer, The Aerospace Corporation

2002-2003 Fellow: Stefi Baum
Member Society: AAS
Institution/Position When Accepted Fellowship: Space Telescope Science Institute; Division Head, Engineering and Software Services
Fellowship Assignment: Office of Agriculture and Textile Trade Affairs, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Fellowship funding: State Department
Length of Fellowship term: Two years
Current Position: Director, Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology

2003-2004 Fellow: Carol Christian
Member Society: AAS
Institution/Position When Accepted Fellowship: Space Telescope Science Institute; Head, Development, Technology and Innovation
Fellowship Assignment: Office of eDiplomacy, Bureau of Information Resource Management; U.S. Department of State
Fellowship funding: First year funded by AIP; second year funded by State
Length of Fellowship term: Two years
Current Position: AIP Fellow, Bureau of Information Resource Management

2003-2004 Fellow: Edward Whittaker
Member Society: APS, OSA
Institution/Position When Accepted Fellowship: Stevens Institute of Technology; Professor of Physics
Fellowship Assignment: Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Fellowship funding: State Department
Length of Fellowship term: One year
Current Position: Professor of Physics, Stevens Institute of Technology

2004-2005 Fellow: Steve Fetter
Member Society: APS
Institution/Position When Accepted Fellowship: University of Maryland School of Public Affairs; Professor; Joint Global Change Research Institute; Associate Director
Fellowship Assignment: Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary, U.S. Department of State
Fellowship funding: AIP
Length of Fellowship term: Four months*
(*Fetter resigned his Fellowship, effective January 2005, for personal reasons.)

Appendix C

Roster of AIP State Department Science Fellowship Committee Members
2003-2004 Term

Roland W. Schmitt, Committee Chairman
President Emeritus, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Donald R. Hamann
Director, Theoretical Materials Physics Research
Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies

Joseph Alexander
Director, Space Studies Board
National Research Council

George Atkinson
Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State
United States Department of State

Stephanie Miley
Deputy Director, Office of Policy Analysis and Public Diplomacy
Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
United States Department of State

Allan Krass
Office of Nuclear Energy Affairs
Bureau of Nonproliferation
United States Department of State

Fellowship Coordinator, Department of Media and Government Relations
Government Relations Program Representative
American Institute of Physics

Appendix D

Roster of AIP State Department Science Fellowship Committee Members
2004-2005 Term

Joseph Alexander
Director, Space Studies Board
National Research Council

Howard Schlossberg
Air Force Office of Scientific Research

George Atkinson
Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State
United States Department of State

Stephanie Miley
Deputy Director, Office of Policy Analysis and Public Diplomacy
Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
United States Department of State

Allan Krass
Office of Nuclear Energy Affairs
Bureau of Nonproliferation
United States Department of State

Fellowship Coordinator, Department of Media and Government Relations
Government Relations Program Representative
American Institute of Physics

Reference List

Department’s Senior Task Force on Strengthening Science at State. (2000). Science and Foreign Policy: The Role of the Department of State. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State.