AIP Congressional Science Fellows, 1988-2010

AIP has sponsored Congressional Science Fellows since 1988, and in that time its Fellows on Capitol Hill have made contributions to areas as wide-ranging as judicial misconduct, digital piracy, dairy industry disaster relief, Native American issues, encryption and consumer privacy, and even commercial whaling, as well as the more commonly-cited issues of energy, environment, nuclear power, homeland security, nonproliferation, education and the workforce, and technology transfer.

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 Congressional Science Fellows

2009-2010

Jeffrey Fox

AIP-ASA Congressional Science Fellow
American Physical Society
Placement: Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
Background: PhD in Physics from Cornell University

Marcos Huerta

AIP-AVS Congressional Science Fellow
American Astronomical Society, American Geophysical Union
Placement: Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)
Background: PhD in Astrophysics from Rice University

2008-2009

Richard Thompson

American Geophysical Union
Placement: Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)
Background: PhD in Geoscience from University of Arizona

2007-2008

John Veysey

American Physical Society
Placement: Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Background: Physicist from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

2006-2007

Jonna Hamilton

American Physical Society
Placement: Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Background: 2006 PhD from Brown University.

2004-2005

Dahlia Sokolov

Acoustical Society of America
Placement: Energy Subcommittee of the House Science Committee
Background: BS in Engineering Physics from the University of California, Berkeley and PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Washington

2003-2004

Lee Hirsch

American Geophysical Union
Placement: Rep. Jim McDermott (D−WA)
Background: PhD in geophysics and experience in the classroom, industry, and the Peace Corps

2001-2002

Maureen Mellody

Acoustical Society of America
Placement: Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA)
Background: PhD in Applied Physics from the University of Michigan.

2000-2001

Kendra Sharp

American Physical Society
Placement: Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT)
Background: PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

1999-2000

Gregory Jaczko

American Physical Society
Placement: Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA)
Background: Particle physics.

1998-1999

Lowell Unger

American Physical Society
Placement: Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA)
Background: PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Chicago.

1997-1998

Kathryn Clay

American Physical Society
Placement: Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY)
Background: PhD in Applied Physics from the University of Michigan.

1996-1997

Stephen Hagen

American Physical Society
Placement: Senate Banking Committee
Background: PhD from Princeton.

1995-1996

Kevin Bieg

Placement: Science Committee, U.S. House of Representatives
Background: PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois, and an MBA from George Washington University.

1994-1995

Laura Phillips

Placement: Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT)
Background: PhD in physical chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley.

1993-1994

Carmina Londono

Optical Society of America
Placement: House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Background: BS in physics from the University of Lowell, MA in Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona Optical Sciences Center, and PhD in electro-optics from Tufts University Electro-Optics Technology Center.

1992-1993

Mark Goodman

American Physical Society
Placement: Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Background: BA in physics and mathematics from Brown University and MA and PhD in physics from Princeton.

1991-1992

Rosalyn Ritts

Placement: House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Background: PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

1990-1991

Tim Elam

American Physical Society
Placement: Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Background: PhD in Physics from the University of Maryland.

1989-1990

Kenneth Goettel

Placement: Rep Vic Fazio (D-CA)
Background: Ph.D. Geology (Geochemistry) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

1988-1989

Arthur Charo

Placement: Office of Technology Assessment
Background: PhD in Chemical Physics from Duke University