SCIENCE POLICY
More Than 1500 Fellows in S&T Fellowship Program

With the arrival of a new group of AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows this September, the Association's 29-year-old fellowship program will have sent more than 1500 scientists and engineers to work for a year in the Washington, D.C., offices of the executive and legislative branches of the federal government.

The fellows program has more than fulfilled its promise over the years, according to David Goldston, chief of staff for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science.

"It's a very useful exchange," said Goldston, who has worked for the U.S. Congress for 15 years. "The Congressional Fellows get to see how Congress works, and we get the benefit of their expertise, their fresh perspective, and their energy and willingness to work hard."

AAAS offers eight other science policy fellowships, among them ones that deal with the environment, global stewardship, diplomacy, risk policy, and global security.

Gerard Gilfoyle was a 1999–2000 AAAS Defense Policy Fellow and served his fellowship at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Although he left Washington to take a job as associate professor in the department of physics at the University of Richmond, the nuclear physicist said he had been strongly affected by his year-long stay in Washington.

"I realized that the government is in dire need of people with technical expertise," Gilfoyle said. "I wanted to stay involved in the policy world even after I left, because the work is interesting and rewarding, and I think it is important for scientists to do public service."

At the agency, Gilfoyle worked on projects to assess the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and on "modeling nuclear deterrence in a multi-polar world." He published a paper in December 2001 that was based on his work at the agency to identify new ways to block the spread of nuclear weapons. ("Using Nuclear Materials to Prevent Nuclear Proliferation," in Science and Global Security, vol. 9.) His work also inspired him to volunteer for an antiterrorism task force created by the American Physical Society.

"The fellowship program offers an exceptional opportunity to bring the scientific community closer to the world of policymakers and the agencies that support science," said AAAS CEO Alan I. Leshner. "At the same time, the fellows help to educate legislators about science and to ensure the accuracy of the science that is so central to policy-making, particularly at this time in history."

AAAS COUNCIL
November Deadline for Proposing Resolutions

The next meeting of the AAAS Council will take place in Denver, Colorado, during the AAAS 2003 Annual Meeting, and will begin at 9:00 a.m. on 16 February 2003 in the Denver Ballroom of the Marriott Hotel.

Individuals or organizations wishing to present proposals or resolutions for possible consideration by the council should submit them in written form to AAAS CEO Alan Leshner by 1 November 2002. This will allow time for them to be considered by the Committee on Council Affairs at its fall meeting.

Items should be consistent with AAAS's objectives and be appropriate for consideration by the council. Resolutions should be in the traditional format, beginning with "Whereas" statements and ending with "Therefore be it resolved."

Late proposals or resolutions delivered to the AAAS CEO in advance of the February 2003 Open Hearing of the Committee on Council Affairs will be considered, provided that they deal with urgent matters and are accompanied by a written explanation of why they were not submitted by the November deadline. The Committee on Council Affairs will hold its open hearing at 2:30 p.m. on 15 February 2003 in the Denver Ballroom of the Marriott Hotel.

Summaries of the council meeting agenda will be available during the annual meeting at both the AAAS information desk and in the AAAS headquarters office. A copy of the full agenda will also be available for inspection in the headquarters office.