Communicating with Policymakers
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Letter from the President
Communicating with Policymakers The Materials Research Society has the mission of promoting communication about materials, and it is easy to see many of the ways in which we do that. Our meetings and publications offer excellent means of providing for technical communication among our members, but the Society has a role of communicating the interests of materials researchers to policymakers, and vice versa. Society officers, staff, and members of the Public Affairs Committee can often be found in Washington, D.C., visiting congressional representatives and senators to explain why increased investment in materials research is essential to the nation’s (and the world’s) economy. We have a growing network on Capitol Hill that helps us have an impact there. MRS (jointly with the Optical Society of America) sponsors a Congressional Fellow each year, placing a scientific professional in the office of a senator or representative to provide advice on scientific matters and support in drafting technically related legislation. The Congressional Fellows have a great history of providing MRS leaders with contacts and insights that have allowed us to make a relevant impact in return for a relatively modest investment. We are also helped by various other
Communicating with Policymakers MRS Web Sources MRS Public Affairs Committee www.mrs.org/pa/ MRS/OSA Congressional Fellowship www.mrs.org/pa/fellowship/ Effective Communication with Congress and the White House www.mrs.org/pa/communication/ MRS Public Affairs E-mail Alerts www.mrs.org/pa/
International Web Sources International Union of Materials Research Societies www.iumrs.org/ IUMRS Facets www.iumrs.org/facets.html European-MRS Materials Science Forum on Future Sustainable Technologies www.amu-augsburg.de/matforum/
MRS BULLETIN/FEBRUARY 2002
“Investment in materials research (in particular) and the physical sciences (in general) is good for the country.”
contacts who act as our “eyes and ears” in Washington. These include ASTRA (the Alliance for Science and Technology Research in America), FMS (the Federation of Materials Societies), and our own Washington consultant. These help us to maximize our impact on congressional actions by ensuring that our visits, calls, and messages to Washington are welltimed, targeted, and focused. We routinely invite federal science agency staff and directors to our Spring and Fall Meetings, along with specific policy-oriented individuals as new programs appropriate for MRS members come under consideration. Even an occasional elected official has attended our meetings. It is very hard to measure the effect of our efforts in promoting materials research, although it is gratifying to hear that MRS is regarded by many as the primary voice for materials research on Capitol Hill, and is increasingly recognized without the need of any introduction. The collective efforts of MRS and others in 2001 certainly helped to produce significant improvements in the fiscal year 2002 budget for the physical sciences over President
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