Materials researchers join historic March for Science
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Materials researchers join historic March for Science www.marchforscience.com
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he historic, April 22nd March for Science in Washington, DC—with more than 600 satellite marches around the globe—focused the world’s attention on the importance of science in daily life as it celebrated the work and achievements of the scientific community, including materials researchers. March for Science organizers said, “We marched as an unprecedented coalition of organizations and individuals. We marched because science is critical to our health, economies, food security, and safety. We marched to defend the role of science in policy and society.” A cold rain came down most of the day in Washington, DC, but it did not deter the estimated 100,000 scientists
and their supporters who, starting at 8:00 am, huddled together in groups on the National Mall to enjoy a variety of music and the rally cries of scientists and their supporters onstage who kept the crowd fired up. One materials scientist at the rally, Mindaugas Rackaitis, a research manager at Bridgestone Tire in Akron, Ohio, explained why he came to the March: “I disagree with the way the US government is treating science.” He said he was particularly disturbed by recent actions such as the deletion of climate change information on the Environmental Protection Agency website. For himself and other scientists, Rackaitis said, “there is this really emotional want for society to appreciate science.”
WASHINGTON, D.C.
By 2:00 pm, starting time for the March itself, the crowd overflowed the area of the Mall around the Washington Monument and began moving up Constitution Avenue, past the White House, and on toward the Capitol building. Science celebrities, including television host Bill Nye (The Science Guy), led the charge, shouting out in support of science all the way. At one of the satellite marches, professor of materials science and engineering at the University of California (UC), Merced, Valerie Leppert said the atmosphere in Phoenix, Ariz., felt like a celebration of science. Based in a rural area, Leppert would have had to travel far to participate in a march in a metropolitan locale such as San Francisco. She decided to stay an extra day in Phoenix following the Materials Research Society (MRS) Spring Meeting and join in the March, even though she was unable to stay beyond that for the festivities. Leppert said she is concerned because “we are rapidly exceeding the planet’s resources. It’s clear we’re going to need to innovate our way out of these constraints.” And as a scientist, she feels it is important to provide the resources to train the next generation of scientists as well as provide the resources to support the work of science. “We’re lucky in this country to have this infrastructure that supports science in terms of the national user facilities,” she said. “It’s distressing to me to see the erosion in support for that effort in the last couple of decades,” Leppert said, in terms of public funding for public universities and cutbacks at user facilities. At an
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