AIP Seeks Applicants for 2008-9 State Department Fellowship

Are you interested in the interface between science and technology and international diplomacy? Issues involving S&T are at the forefront of the U.S.’s diplomatic agenda, making it essential for the U.S. Department of State to have knowledgeable scientific input. Through its State Department Science Fellowship program, the American Institute of Physics offers an opportunity for scientists to make a unique and substantial contribution to the foreign policy process. Information on applying to the AIP State Department Science Fellowship for the 2008-2009 Fellowship term BY THE NOVEMBER 1 DEADLINE is provided below. Interested readers should visit our new web site at http://www.aip.org/gov/fellowships/ for more information on this and related Science Fellowship programs.

What do AIP Fellows work on during their terms at the State Department? AIP’s outgoing Fellow, APS member James Dufty, spent his term in the Bureau of International Organizational Affairs, where he was responsible for the natural, social and human science aspects of U.S. participation in the United National Education, Science, and Culture Organization (UNESCO). Dufty also spearheaded formation of the U.S. National Committee for the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and worked on support for the U.S. Man in the Biosphere program, discussions for a new U.S. Geoparks network, and development of a science exhibit for the UNESCO’s Paris headquarters. The 2005-2006 AIP State Department Science Fellow, Tegan Blaine, an AGU member, managed programs in integrated water resources management in Ethiopia, Indonesia, and El Salvador, and was involved in tsunami reconstruction efforts in the Maldives. Previous AIP Fellows have worked on topics as varied as critical infrastructure protection, export controls, use of remote sensing imagery, biotechnology and the safety of agricultural products, emerging S&T issues, European and Russian science policy, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development. AIP’s very first State Department Fellow, George Atkinson, subsequently served for several years as the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State.

AIP’s Fellowship program, the first of its kind, was established in 2001, in response to concerns within the scientific community that the State Department was in need of enhanced scientific and technical capabilities. AIP’s Fellowship is run under the auspices of the Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science and Technology Policy Fellowships. Currently, AIP receives an annual contribution from the American Astronomical Society to help support its State Department Science Fellowship. AIP does not take a role in the Fellow’s placement, but does encourage its Fellows to seek beyond the traditional roles for scientists in the department when interviewing for an assignment, to broaden the reach and visibility of scientific expertise within the Department.

TO APPLY FOR THE 2008-2009 AIP STATE DEPARTMENT FELLOWSHIP:

AIP is now seeking applicants for its 2008-9 State Department Fellowship. Qualified scientists at any stage of their career are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, have a PhD in physics or a closely related field, be members of one or more of AIP’s ten Member Societies, and be eligible to receive an appropriate security clearance prior to starting the Fellowship. (In exceptional cases the PhD requirement may be waived for outstanding applicants with equivalent research experience.) Final interviews will take place early in 2008, and the 12-month Fellowship term will begin in September 2008.

For information on AIP’s Fellowship programs and application instructions, please visit our web site at http://www.aip.org/gov/fellowships/ . To apply, you will be asked to provide contact information and qualifications, and you will be given instructions on electronic submission of a cover letter and resume, and arranging for submission of three letters of reference.

ALL MATERIALS for the 2008-2009 AIP State Department Science Fellowship must be submitted BY NOVEMBER 1, 2007.

Please see http://www.aip.org/gov/fellowships/ or contact Audrey Leath (aleath@aip.org , 301-209-3094 ) if you have questions or need additional information.