Page 34 - Acoustics Today Spring 2011

Fig. 3. The Mae Jemison Science Reading Room is a rich environment for students in Mamelodi Township, just outside of Pretoria, South Africa. For many students, the Reading Room is the only place where they can learn about science and tech- nology; their enthusiasm for science is palpable! The Mae Jemison Reading Room is a partnership between the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, the University of Pretoria, and Mamelodi Township.
friendly and patient colleagues who have helped me navigate the complex State Department structure and culture.
One of the highlights of my year has been a trip to South Africa and Botswana. I traveled with the officer who covers all State Department public diplomacy activities in southern Africa. The goals of the trip were threefold: to learn about South Africa and Botswana and the goals and activities of U.S. Missions there; to report back to the office on Embassy and Consulate outreach goals and plans, as well as any prob- lems or issues they are facing; and to conduct public outreach events. We spent roughly a third of our time meeting with Embassy and Consulate staff. The rest of the time was spent meeting external groups, and taking part in several science outreach events. In Pretoria, we met with teachers and stu- dents at the African Leadership Academy,23 which is an ambi- tious initiative to develop the next generation of leaders in Africa, and visited the Mae Jemison Science Reading Room,24 which is a partnership between the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, the University of Pretoria, and the Mamelodi Township (Figure 3). In Johannesburg, I led a discussion on science education policy in the U.S. and South Africa with K-12 sci- ence educators and university faculty. That discussion was a good example of how science outreach can help U.S. Missions advance their policy goals. Helping South Africa improve its education system is a top U.S. Mission policy objective. While my few hours there obviously did not have much impact on student achievement, the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg was able to use my visit to develop and strengthen Consulate relationships with the university, an important and influential education policy stakeholder in South Africa. In Cape Town, I met with students at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences,25 and later with students at several local high schools that focus on science and technology, one of which has a virtual exchange program with a high school in Los Angeles. Finally, in Gaborone, I met with faculty leaders at the local university and led two round- table discussions on climate change (Figure 4), one with uni-
versity students and another with local, non-governmental environmental organizations.
I have very much enjoyed my experience this year in the State Department. I plan to renew the Fellowship for one more year, after which I will decide what path to take next. Perhaps the most important lesson I have learned over the last several years is that it is impossible to predict the future. That said, my experiences as a Science & Technology Policy Fellow have been transformative, and I expect to continue to work on policy-related issues, whether in the public or pri- vate sector, after my Fellowship ends.
America needs scientists in policy
Applying the scientific method to complex policy issues is not always realistic (try to imagine a controlled experiment on an ensemble of State Departments). Yet scientists can bring an analytical and data-driven perspective that can sig- nificantly improve the policy-making process. Unfortunately, including a scientific perspective as one of several points of view in policy development is not as common as it should be, and this deficiency has consequences. As John Adams, one of our country’s Founders, would say, facts are stubborn things. When our elected officials ignore empirical facts and scien- tific evidence, it is not just the science community that feels the impact; eventually all of society suffers.
It is not realistic for scientific principles to be the pri- mary driver behind public policy decisions. Nor would that be desirous; public policy is a tool by which a given society organizes itself, and that policy must in some way reflect that society’s values. As Richard Feynman argues in The Meaning of it All: Thoughts of a Citizen-scientist,26 a thought-provoking set of lectures on science and its role in society, ethical values lie outside the scientific realm (Feynman acknowledges that this assertion may be controversial to some. His lectures, and his defense of this position, are worth reading). However, sci- ence can identify policy options, and can forecast potential
Fig. 4. The author met with environmental civil society organizations at the U.S. Embassy in Gaborone, Botswana to discuss climate change and the COP-17 climate negotiations that will be held in Durban, South Africa at the end of 2011.
30 Acoustics Today, April 2011