Congressional Fellows bring science to US government
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Congressional Fellows bring science to US government www.mrs.org/congressional-fellows
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ecisions made by the US Congress, regulatory agencies, and local governments have profound effects on the way in which science is conducted. In order to help keep decision makers wellinformed on current affairs of the scientific community, the Materials Research Society (MRS) co-sponsors two Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowships each year. MRS partnered with the Optical Society of America (OSA) in 1995 to sponsor the first congressional fellow. Then in 2008, MRS and The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) co-sponsored a fellowship. This year,
Megan Brewster 2013–2014 MRS/TMS Congressional Fellow
Sydney Kaufman 2013–2014 MRS/OSA Congressional Fellow
Jimmy O’Dea 2014–2015 MRS/OSA Congressional Fellow
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MRS BULLETIN
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VOLUME 39 • AUGUST 2014
Jimmy O’Dea has been selected as the 2014–2015 MRS/OSA Congressional Science and Engineering Fellow and Adria Wilson as the 2014–2015 MRS/TMS Congressional Science and Engineering Fellow. Their tenures begin in September of this year. Both Fellows have been heavily influenced by the global need to develop sustainable energy. Wilson described the production and storage of energy as one of the greatest technological challenges facing the country. “The energy issue in particular is a political one,” she said, “because legislation will dictate how well new technologies compete with
Adria Wilson 2014–2015 MRS/TMS Congressional Fellow
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www.mrs.org/bulletin
current monolithic, yet unsustainable, energy markets.” O’Dea, having grown up in Las Vegas, witnessed firsthand the intersection of economic development and natural resources. He said, “Being a native of the Mojave Desert has certainly influenced my decision to pursue science and science policy.” Likewise, Wilson and O’Dea are both concerned with the lack of scientific information when legislation is enacted, across the country, regarding hydraulic fracturing. Wilson’s experience working on this issue in North Carolina made her aware of “how important it is that scientists represent their findings with a clear voice to policymakers.” Taking this a step further, O’Dea said, “I realized how important access to the scientific literature was in my ability to critique the proposed regulations [on New York’s fracking].” He therefore advocates for open-access publishing policies and has led an effort for Cornell research publications to be freely available no matter where they are published. O’Dea comes to the Capitol following a postdoctoral research position in the Energy Materials Center at Cornell University. He received his PhD degree from the University of California–Santa Barbara (UCSB), in 2010. His honors include an Excellence in Teaching Award from the UCSB Graduate Student Association and the Peter K. Wallerich Scholarship in Natural Sciences from the University of Puget Sound. A recent graduate from Duke University, with a PhD degree in chemistry (2014), Wilson focused her research on the structural basis
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