2001-2010 AIP State Department Science Fellows
AIP State Department Science Fellows have worked on portfolios as diverse as water resources management, critical infrastructure protection, export controls, use of remote sensing imagery, biotechnology, biodiversity, the safety of agricultural products, European and Russian science policy, UNESCO, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Fellows come from all sectors and all career levels, and have gone on to varied careers, including positions in academia, industry, non-profits, congressional staff, science teaching, and consulting. Some arrive in DC as newly-minted PhDs, others as faculty members and department heads. Still others have come from industry and government labs, and two started fellowships after serving in the Peace Corps.
Some former fellows ensure that the voice of science is heard in policymaking circles long after their fellowships. George Atkinson, an AIP State Department Science Fellow (2001-2002) went on to serve as Science and Technology Adviser under two Secretaries of State. One former AIP Congressional Fellow was a senior policy advisor to two Secretaries of Commerce, and several others work as permanent Capitol Hill staffers.
Past State Department Fellows
2008-2009
Suzanne Parete-Koon
American Astronomical Society
Placement: Bureau of Oceans, Environment, and Science
Background: Recent Ph.D. in Nuclear Astrophysics from the University of Tennessee.
2007-2008
Lubna Rana
Fellowship funding: First year funded by AIP; second year funded by State
American Physical Society
Placement: Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary
Background: Lubna Rana received her PhD in particle physics from the University of Maryland, where she also worked as a visiting scientist, studying supersymmetry and supergravity.
2006-2007
James Duffy
American Physical Society
Placement: Bureau of International Organizations
Background: Professor emeritus, Physics Department, University of Florida.
2005-2006
Tegan Blaine
American Geophysical Union
Placement: Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
Background: Recent Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography
2004-2005
Steve Fetter
American Physical Society
Placement: Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary
Background: Professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs and Associate Director of the Joint Global Change Research Institute
2003-2004
Carol Christian
Fellowship funding: First year funded by AIP; second year funded by State
American Astronomical Society
Placement: Office of eDiplomacy, Bureau of Information Resource Management
Background: Head of Development, Technology and Innovation at the Space Telescope Science Institute
Edward Whittaker
Fellowship funding: State Department
American Physical Society, Optical Society of America
Placement: Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
Background: Professor of physics/engineering physics at Stevens Institute of Technology
2002-2003
Gretchen Lindsay
American Geophysical Union
Placement: Office of Plans, Policy and Analysis, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
Background: Project Engineer, the Aerospace Corporation
Stephanie Baum
Fellowship funding: State Department
American Astronomical Society
Placement: Office of Agriculture and Textile Trade Affairs, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
Background: Division Head, Engineering and Software Services at the Space Telescope Science Institute
2001-2002
George Atkinson
American Physical Society
Placement: Bureau of Intelligence and Research; Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
Background: Professor of Chemistry and Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona.
Barrett Ripin
Fellowship funding: State Department
American Physical Society, American Association of Physics Teachers
Placement: Office of Science and Technology Cooperation, Bureau of Oceans and Environmental and Scientific Affairs
Background: President of Research Applied, Inc.