A publication of the Science & Technology Policy Fellowships - January 2010

Director's Corner Cynthia Robinson Director, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships

It is a pleasure to present this inaugural edition of the new, improved, and now online Fellowship Focus. As the Science & Technology Policy Fellowships grow and evolve, our goals for this publication are to:

• keep current and former Fellows, fellowship supervisors, mentors, and liaisons, selection committee members, and others informed of plans and progress;

• share the experiences of Fellows and outputs from their projects and activities;

• highlight the roles and contributions of mentors and supervisors;

• and call attention to opportunities for Fellows and others in our network to engage with AAAS and the S&T Policy Fellowships.

We plan to publish three times a year. We welcome your feedback on Fellowship Focus and your contributions for news and articles. Please contact Dan Poux at dpoux@aaas.org.

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Around AAAS

The AAAS Annual Meeting will be held 18-22 February 2010, in San Diego, CA. The S&T Policy Fellowships, in collaboration with the Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy (COSEPP), will hold an evening reception on Saturday, February 20, from 7:45 to 9:15 p.m., in the Mission Hills room at the San Diego Marriot Hotel & Marina. Please join us if you will be at the annual meeting!

The annual Science & Technology Policy Forum will be held 13-14 May 2010, in Washington D.C. Watch for details in the coming months.

New Online Networks
AAAS has launched the following online networking sites:

• CTSciNet - Clinical and Translational Science Network to support scientists working on cutting-edge medical therapies.

• MySciNet - An Inclusive Community helps minority scientists navigate their career paths.

For more information about AAAS programs and activities visit the AAAS website at www.aaas.org.

Current & Former Fellows

	Developing projects for Iraqi scientists and engineers Ben Brodsky State Dept.		From neuroscience research to the Summit of the Americas Frances Colón State Dept.
	A doctor in the halls of diplomacy Jessica Eisner State Dept.		Global connections to address climate change Teresa Leonardo USAID
	From lasers in the lab to IEDs on the battlefield Christophe L. McCray DoD		A national “culture of preparedness” Doug Meckes DHS
	Encountering the President amid the pyramids Sandra Scham USAID

Mentors & Supervisors

	Mentoring Fellows at the EPA: Q&A with Mike Slimak		Supervising Fellows on the Hill: Q&A with David Goldston

Fellowship Updates

New Fellowship Area: DSD

The Diplomacy Fellowships have been merged with the National Defense & Global Security Fellowships (NDGS) to create a singe new thematic focus called Diplomacy, Security & Development (DSD). This allows us to take advantage of the overlap that already existed among these two programs both from a perspective of international activity and the foci on a broad range of security issues. This change also clarifies the range of opportunities that already existed in what was formerly simply called Diplomacy, but included development, foreign aid, and international capacity building. This first issue of the Fellowship Focus highlights just a few of the current and former S&T Policy Fellows who have been active in critical issues in diplomacy, security and development.

A Record Year for Applications

With an eight percent increase in the number of eligible applications across the four fellowships areas, it was a banner year. More than 650 eligible applications for the 2010-11 AAAS Fellowships are now being evaluated by 140 former Fellows in the first round of review. This is a huge and critical task, and we extend our thanks to the former Fellow volunteer “readers” assisting us this year.