Dr. Francis Slakey is the Chief External Affairs Officer of the American Physical Society (APS).
Dr. Slakey received his PhD in physics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In addition to his technical publications in the field of condensed matter physics, he has also published widely in the popular press including The New York Times, Washington Post, Slate, and Scientific American. He has served in advisory positions for a diverse set of organizations including the National Geographic, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Creative Coalition — the political advocacy organization of the entertainment industry. He is a Fellow of the APS, a Fellow of the AAAS, a MacArthur Scholar, and a Lemelson Research Associate of the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Slakey served as the Upjohn Lecturer on Physics and Public Policy at Georgetown University where he founded the GU Program on Science in the Public Interest.
Dr. Slakey is the first person in history to both summit the highest mountain on every continent and surf every ocean. He became the 28th American to summit Mt. Everest in an environmental expedition that was the subject of the award-winning movie “Beyond the Summit”, and described in his best-selling adventure memoir "To The Last Breath". In recognition of his adventures, as part of the 2002 Olympic Games, he carried the Olympic torch from the steps of the US Capitol.
Talk Title: Countering Misinformation - An APS Public-Facing Mobilization Campaign