AIP’s Córdova Forum: Creating a New Space for Conversations That Shape the Future of Science

Scientific discovery has always depended on more than brilliant ideas and talented researchers. It requires a complex and evolving ecosystem of institutions, networks, and government policies that make discovery possible. And as science changes, that ecosystem must change with it. Those who sustain and drive change within this ecosystem bring different responsibilities and perspectives to the same questions. Understanding and at times reconciling those differences is essential to shaping the future of discovery.

Today, we find ourselves at an important moment in that evolution. Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the tools and methods of scientific research. New opportunities for discovery are emerging across traditional disciplinary boundaries. At the same time, the institutions and structures that have supported the American scientific enterprise for decades face profound questions about their future.

How do we ensure that the systems supporting scientific discovery evolve alongside science itself? How should government, universities, industry, philanthropy, and scientific societies work together in new ways? And what will it take to sustain American scientific leadership in an era of extraordinary technological change?

These are not questions that any single institution or sector can answer alone. They demand a broader conversation. A conversation that must connect policymakers and policy influencers with researchers and practitioners across the STEM enterprise—stakeholders whose interests overlap but whose perspectives do not always meet.

Convening that dialogue is at the heart of a new initiative at AIP: the France A. Córdova Forum on Science Policy & Society, which will hold its inaugural annual gathering on December 2, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

The theme of the December event is “The Future of Discovery: Envisioning U.S. Scientific Leadership in the Age of AI.” We will bring together a carefully selected group of thinkers and leaders from across science, technology, government, industry, and philanthropy for an evening of candid conversation about the opportunities and challenges facing the American scientific enterprise.

Our goal is not to produce a consensus statement or a set of policy recommendations. It is to create something that is increasingly difficult to find: a space where people with different experiences, perspectives, and responsibilities can explore consequential questions together, challenge assumptions, and think beyond the constraints of their individual institutions. We believe the value of the Forum will come as much from the people gathered and the relationships that develop among them as from the formal discussion itself.

Honoring a remarkable leader

The Forum is named in honor of France A. Córdova, whose extraordinary career embodies the connections among science, leadership, philanthropy and public service that this initiative seeks to strengthen.

An accomplished astrophysicist, Córdova has served as NASA’s chief scientist, president of Purdue University, director of the National Science Foundation, and, most recently, president of the Science Philanthropy Alliance. She also served as the inaugural chair of the AIP Foundation Board of Trustees, helping to establish a philanthropic vision for advancing AIP’s mission in the physical sciences.

The Forum was established with a generous gift from Vint Cerf, a pioneering architect of the internet and former AIP Foundation trustee, in recognition of France’s contributions to science and society.

Both Córdova and Cerf understand that scientific progress depends not only on the pursuit of knowledge but also on the capacity of our institutions to adapt.

In a recent essay in Physics Today, they argue for an ongoing dialogue about the future of scientific discovery and the partnerships that sustain it. Their central observation is especially relevant today: The structures supporting science must be capable of evolving as rapidly as the opportunities for discovery.

The Córdova Forum is an opportunity to put that thinking into practice.

Building an enduring conversation

The choice of artificial intelligence as our inaugural theme reflects both its enormous potential and the fundamental questions it raises about the future of research.

AI is already changing how scientists analyze information, develop hypotheses, and explore problems of extraordinary complexity. Its influence extends well beyond research methods, raising questions about scientific training, research infrastructure, access to advanced capabilities, the organization of scientific institutions, and the relationship between public and private investment.

These developments offer tremendous promise. But realizing that promise requires us to consider whether the scientific enterprise and our nation’s discovery infrastructure are properly organized to support the advances of tomorrow.

The Forum will approach these questions through a broad lens, recognizing that the future of scientific leadership is not simply a matter of technological capability. It also depends on the relationships, institutions, and public commitments that enable scientific progress. Our focus will be U.S. science policy, primarily at the federal level, while recognizing the state-level and global contexts that shape the American scientific enterprise.

This is a natural role for AIP. As a federation of scientific societies and an independent institute devoted to understanding and strengthening the physical sciences enterprise, we occupy a distinctive position at the intersection of scientific knowledge, policy, and community. Our independent policy news, research, and analysis, together with our convening power, help the community understand the challenges ahead and respond to them. In doing so, we put into practice a central ambition of AIP’s Centennial Vision: empowering positive change through content, context, and connection.

That is why we see the Córdova Forum as much more than an annual event.

We envision an enduring institution for dialogue, one that will return each year to consequential questions about science and society, connect perspectives that do not ordinarily meet, and help inform broader conversations about the future of discovery.

The December gathering will be a private, invitation-only discussion, designed to encourage openness and thoughtful exchange. But participants will be able to draw on what they hear and learn at the Forum as they exercise their influence in shaping the future of discovery in America. The Forum’s wider value will grow through the understanding and relationships participants carry into their work, while respecting the non-attributable nature of the discussions.

Scientific discovery has always been an act of looking beyond what we currently know and imagining the future state of human knowledge. Sustaining the enterprise that makes discovery possible demands the same willingness to question assumptions, imagine alternatives, and build for the future.

On December 2, we will begin that conversation in a new way.