Influencing U.S. Science Policy

Scientific progress affects every aspect of modern life. Despite this pervasiveness, Americans are faced with critical science policy issues that are often obscured by a lack of information or outright misinformation. In addition to controversial issues such as stem cell research, climate change, and evolution, funding for science and development of a competitive scientific workforce is now seriously threatened. This session will review how scientific research is funded as the basis for how to communicate more effectively with the broader public, media, and elected officials. In this era of non-stop communication, it is increasingly important to successfully reach and influence those who make the decisions about investment and policies that impact the progress of scientific education and research.