Fellowship Experiences: Faculty

Are you interested in a unique sabbatical experience? Do you have an interest in public policy? The AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships provide excellent opportunities for scientists and engineers in academia to contribute their expertise to federal policy-making in Washington, DC. Fellows serve one-year assignments involving domestic and international science policy issues in either Congress or one of approximately a dozen executive branch agencies.

And because the fellowships begin in September and follow the academic calendar, the schedule is convenient for faculty members to take a professional development sabbatical or finish teaching before leaving the university.

Please read below as some former AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellows recount their experiences.

Andrea M. Dietrich
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
"I plunged into the waters of legislative and public affairs, and out of the mainstream of my academic career..."
AAAS Fellow, 2001-02
Office of Legislative and Public Affairs
National Science Foundation

Jerry Gilfoyle
University of Richmond
"'Are you coming back?' was one of the first questions I heard..."
AAAS Fellow, 1999-2000
Advanced Systems and Concepts Office of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency
U.S. Department of Defense

Deborah H. Olster
University of California, Santa Barbara
"Yes I was a tenured, full professor at a 'Research 1' University, in a location considered paradise..."
AAAS Fellow, 2000-01
Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
National Science Foundation