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When Science is Politicized Everyone Loses

The Covid-19 pandemic taught us a lot about science. From appropriate, science-based public health measures to keep us safe, to treatments for those infected, to the quick development of highly effective vaccines, science was our safety blanket.

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Events

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Science and Engineering in Florida

Science is US and Enterprise Florida launched a new series of virtual events that emphasize the essential nature of science and engineering to Floridians. The first session in the series kicked off on February 24 with Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeannette Nuñez and a panel of science and engineering experts in a discussion on Florida’s aerospace industry.

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Explore Highlights

The latest from us.

Join us for this education speaker series highlighting solutions for Georgia’s tech economy and future #STEMworkforce.

Panel II: "FOLLOW THE MONEY" - 6/30 @ 1PM

Learn more and RSVP @Sci4GA's event page: http://bit.ly/GAEduWork21

#ScienceIsUS #ScienceIsGeorgia #Sci4GA

Meet the people of science.

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People of Science: Chloë McPherson, Congressional Science Fellow (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), Office of U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan

“Growing up I always liked math ...

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Jun 9

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People of Science: Chloë McPherson, Congressional Science Fellow (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), Office of U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan “Growing up I always liked math and science – and music. In my junior year of high school, I had a teacher that encouraged me to pursue acoustical engineering. Designing concert halls required a background in all of the areas I loved and excelled at. However, I quickly realized the world didn’t need that many more concert halls! I changed my focus to design engineering which still kept that creative element I enjoyed. Things evolved from there. I was finishing my master’s when I landed the opportunity to intern at the Obama White House. I couldn’t turn that down. I also interned at the Department of Energy. I found that I loved working on science policy and thought ‘let me explore this.’ Thinking of myself as a scientist has been an evolution. I worked at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) writing about science policy happening on Capitol Hill and working with grad students who were also interested in pursuing policy – and that helped me to solidify my science policy career path. Today, I’m a Congressional Science Fellow in the office of U.S. Rep Chrissy Houlahan (PA). A key part of my job is advising my Member of Congress on legislation and positions in my portfolio area which includes science and technology, energy and environment, STEM education and space. Today that means I’m helping my boss prep for an event our office is doing with NASA where K-12 kids from her district will get the opportunity to chat with astronauts in the International Space Station. Since Rep. Houlahan is an engineer, STEM education is a key priority.” ...continued in comments

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People of Science: Lauren Haygood, Science Policy / Citizen Science, AGU Voices for Science, and Community Lead at AGU Thriving Earth Exchange
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“I didn’t grow up thinking I was going to ...

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Jun 7

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People of Science: Lauren Haygood, Science Policy / Citizen Science, AGU Voices for Science, and Community Lead at AGU Thriving Earth Exchange -- “I didn’t grow up thinking I was going to be a scientist. During high school, I had an interest in sports medicine but after taking a class on the subject I realized I hated it. During about the same time, I got really into gardening. After learning more about soil science, plants, high temperature and low temperature geochemistry, I made the connection to pursue geosciences as a STEM career. I recently earned my master’s degree from the University of Tulsa (TU) in geosciences with an emphasis on biogeochemistry. And I begin a PhD program at Oklahoma State University (OSU) this fall. Besides my teaching assistant role at the TU, I am the student representative of SWCS Science & Policy Committee, and a community leader at AGU’s Thriving Earth Exchange, working on a hydrology project on the Kiamichi River, a 172-mile-long river in southeastern Oklahoma. We’re working on a remediation program to improve the river’s water quality, recover mussel populations and help protect the river for future generations. With an AGU Voices for Science grant, I founded a Citizen Science initiative that teaches communities about water quality and how to test for metals and physiochemical parameters. Water quality can sometimes get confusing for the general audience and part of the initiative is to break down those barriers. For example, I’ve found that many people associate ‘water quality’ to mean scientists are testing for bacteria. And although testing for bacteria may be one facet of the data, there are also many other layers to consider including dissolved oxygen, PH levels, salinity, metals, conductivity, turbidity, pesticides…even microplastics and more.” ...continued in comments

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People of Science: Claire Bowen, Data Scientist, Urban Institute (remote worker in New Mexico)

“I’m a data scientist at a public policy research institution. I help distill complex data ...

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Apr 28

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People of Science: Claire Bowen, Data Scientist, Urban Institute (remote worker in New Mexico) “I’m a data scientist at a public policy research institution. I help distill complex data in a manner that makes sense to people. Data isn’t always clean or perfect. Data scientists take that data and help translate it into narratives. How will this data make impact? How can we use it to make better policy choices? I specialize in data privacy and confidentiality. One of the projects I’m working on is helping the IRS to find a better way to release taxpayer data. The President recently approved a $1.9 trillion budget. If we had access to taxpayer data, we could figure out which groups are more vulnerable to better shape public policies. But, we want expand access to this data to other researchers without violating the confidentiality of anyone who contributed to the data. We also recently led the rollout of a COVID-19 job loss tool – an interactive tool that tells us where low-income job loss due to COVID-19 is happening most across the country. What areas were being hit the hardest? What jobs were more vulnerable? We were able to roll this out in about a month and quicky work with local and state governments to help them address the loss. When I was young, I was very curious and math and science explained how things worked to me. Despite growing up in a rural area in Idaho where not many girls pursued careers in science, my family was encouraging of it. I was raised by a single mother and my grandmother was definitely the matriarch of the house. Growing up around strong women helped me to pursue my love of science and ultimately end up where I am today. I know it can be a cliché, but try to pursue what you love. And do your best to silence other voices and just focus on your goal. And find a good support system! This is especially important in a male dominated field like STEM. While I was the only woman that graduated in my cohort, I had a great support network and that made all the difference.”

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People of Science: Hadas Kotek, Linguist, Apple (CA)
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“When tech companies build virtual assistants, they use machine learning models, which are essentially large-scale statistical tools. ...

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Apr 7

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People of Science: Hadas Kotek, Linguist, Apple (CA) - “When tech companies build virtual assistants, they use machine learning models, which are essentially large-scale statistical tools. But to truly work, the assistant also needs to understand the context of the conversation and more broadly the social and cultural background of its users. More and more, companies are recognizing this fact, and that’s where linguists come in: we bring in the human aspect that ultimately enriches the user experience. I’m a linguist at Apple. My job combines data science and project management. Specifically, I help Siri understand its users. I’ve always been interested in the intersection between science and language, and eventually received a PhD in linguistics from MIT. I also spent several years teaching linguistics at the college level. My academic background did a lot to train me for the job I have now. For example, it taught me how to design human-centered experiments, how to identify patterns in diverse and sometimes complex data, and how to work in multi-national collaborations. I work with data scientists, engineers, and annotators, and that kind of collaboration is something I really enjoy. Seeing a product go from inception to widespread use and having that kind of impact is another rewarding aspect of my job. I’m active in a mentoring group that supports women and other minorities in linguistics. I would say to any young aspiring STEM professional: there are resources and networks out there that can help you. I’ve learned that finding those connections is crucial. While asking for help can be hard at times, it’s reassuring to know there are both resources and more importantly people out there who want to help.”

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People of Science: Dr. Ai Takeuchi, VMD, Veterinarian at Lucerne Veterinary Hospital

“I am a small animal general practice veterinarian in central Maine treating and caring for dogs and ...

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Mar 31

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People of Science: Dr. Ai Takeuchi, VMD, Veterinarian at Lucerne Veterinary Hospital “I am a small animal general practice veterinarian in central Maine treating and caring for dogs and cats. That’s everything from wellness exams to sick visits to routine spay/neuter surgeries to foreign body operations and ruptured tumors. I also do orthopedic surgeries, fracture repairs, and plate and screw fixation. Never in a million year did I think I would be doing orthopedic surgeries. But I am a problem-solver and I got tired of amputating perfectly good legs that could be saved because owners couldn’t  afford surgery at a specialty clinic or couldn’t drive two hours south for surgery. We’re two hours away from the closest board-certified surgeon. I see quite a bit of animals that need critical care services. Before moving to Maine, I worked 10 years in emergency medicine, so I’m used to managing and stabilizing critical patients. There is an emergency clinic where I serve on the board that’s open night/weekends and holidays. Even with kids and pets and a spouse with a demanding job, I try to give back when I can. It’s the last emergency clinic before the Canadian border.  What’s interesting about veterinary medicine is that it involves a lot of detective work. The analytical skills used in the profession are natural for me. Some cases are obvious like when an animal is brought in and its face are covered with quills. Chances are he or she got into it with a porcupine. While other cases may require more investigative medicine like in the case of treating a dog who has been vomiting. Depending on what’s going on, I may need to delve further to see what is happening below the surface. Is the vomiting caused because the dog ingested something? It is a viral illness? A symptom of pancreatic disease? Could there be an obstruction in the intestines? I may have to step into the role of pathologist one day and observe cells under a microscope or step into the role of a surgeon the next day because there is an obstruction in the gastral tract.” ... continued in comments

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People of Science: Kristina Pistone, Research Scientist, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (CA)

“I didn’t set out to get into science as a career. I didn’t grow up in a family ...

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Mar 26

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People of Science: Kristina Pistone, Research Scientist, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (CA) “I didn’t set out to get into science as a career. I didn’t grow up in a family of scientists or anything. I had a really great high school Physics teacher who inspired me to study astrophysics in undergrad. During a summer research program, my astronomy professor mentor introduced me both to the idea that research could be a career, and to the Keeling Curve - the long-term observational record showing the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  The following year I took a course on the physical climate system (basically physics applied to earth systems) and that was it for me. I ended up doing my PhD at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, down the hill from where I studied in undergrad and where the Keeling Curve is still maintained. I’m now a research scientist with the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute working on a NASA led project that studies how aerosol particles affect cloud properties and our climate. Right now we’re continuing to analyze data from a field campaign over the Southeast Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Africa. We chose this location because, similar to California, it’s a region with uniform clouds just off the coast, and a consistent amount of atmospheric smoke due to agricultural fires, which makes it a good place to study the interactions between the two. Like California in recent years, the region sees millions of tiny aerosol particles released into the atmosphere from fires. The main difference is that these African biomass burning fires (and their smoke over the ocean) are consistently present in the springtime (which is good if you only have a limited time to collect data), whereas in California the wildfires are fairly unpredictable. ...continued in comments.

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People of Science: Jennifer Chambers, Math & Science Department Chair, The Siena School
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“I wanted to be a marine biologist. That was my childhood passion. I was fascinated by humpback...

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Mar 25

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People of Science: Jennifer Chambers, Math & Science Department Chair, The Siena School -- “I wanted to be a marine biologist. That was my childhood passion. I was fascinated by humpback whales, dolphins, and seals. My mother was born and raised in Hawaii, so I got to spend a lot of time visiting my grandparents and visiting the ocean in Maui. I became intimately connected to the ocean during those visits. I even wrote to President Reagan when I was 10 years old asking him to help baby harp seals from being hunted in the northern territory of Canada. But when I got to college, I deviated from my childhood passion pursuit and studied political science instead. I was accepted to the marine science program at the University of South Carolina. Then during my college visit, things took a turn. The program director at the college discouraged me from pursuing that major and cited failure rates among women studying marine science and convinced me that the likelihood of me graduating with a marine science degree was low. Hearing this at 18 was scary. With my confidence shot and fear of failure, I switched majors after that preliminary visit to USC.   After graduation, I moved to D.C. and worked on several political campaigns and public policy initiatives. I primarily worked on public policy issues that centered around women infected and affected with HIV/AIDS. After many years working in that genre, I decided to study women’s studies. While earning my master’s degree at SUNY, Buffalo, I developed and taught an undergraduate course on the history of the HIV / AIDS epidemic in women. It is also where I discovered my passion for teaching.   When I returned to D.C., I deviated from politics and instead pursued teaching, substituting at first and then getting hired as a Social Studies teacher. During a 10-year break from teaching, I founded Hiking Along LLC, whose mission was to lead and teach kids of all ages the science they were experiencing while hiking. In 2011, I returned to the classroom to teach Science, my childhood passion, to middle schoolers at The Siena School, where I also serve as the Math/Science department chair.” ...continued in comments

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People of Science: Priyanka Kushwaha, Post-doc researcher, University of Arizona
 
“I figured out my career path as I went along. Initially, I was getting my PhD in Biochemistry with the ...

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Mar 2

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People of Science: Priyanka Kushwaha, Post-doc researcher, University of Arizona   “I figured out my career path as I went along. Initially, I was getting my PhD in Biochemistry with the intent to focus on forensic science research. I had joined my PhD lab because I was interested in the use of soil microbial DNA for soil provenance purposes. Soon after, soil microbial nutrient cycling piqued my interest, and I studied the role of microbial functions in urbanized Florida soils for my PhD research.   From there, my interest in soil grew. Here in Arizona, we’re trying to better understand desertification which we’re seeing more of due to climate change. You can monitor the impact of this in the Sonoran Desert by tracking loss of plant density and soil microbial changes. We also have contaminated soils here that need to be rehabilitated. Understanding how microbes in the soil interact with plants and how plants get nutrients from soil will help us get ahead of these issues.   I spend my time both in the lab and in the field collecting soil samples. Surprisingly, the work is similar to my PhD research! I used to collect soil samples from urbanized and wetland areas. Now I do the same but with desert and contaminated soils. In the lab, I extract DNA from soil and sequence the DNA to identify which microorganisms are present.   One of the projects I’m working on right now involves soil samples from Poland to better understand the role of microbes in helping the plants to grow on metal contaminated soils. It’s like a puzzle I want to solve.   Sometimes there can be pressure to have a set path, particularly in science careers. I’m a big believer in doing what you love and what interests you. Everyone’s path is unique and part of the fun is figuring that out as you go along.”

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