APS and AIP Announce New STEM Education Policy Fellowship

News Release

Partnering with U.S. Department of Education, APS and AIP will send science advisors to Washington, D.C. to shape federal policy beginning in 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information:
Jason Socrates Bardi
American Institute of Physics
+1 240-535-4954
[email protected]

Washington, D.C., Sept. 11, 2013 - The American Physical Society (APS) and the American Institute of Physics (AIP) today announced a new jointly-sponsored STEM Education Policy Fellowship that will fund scientists and educators for up to two years, sending them to the U.S. Department of Education where they will work intensively on education policy and programs related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

APS and AIP will begin accepting applications immediately from qualified applicants. The first fellow will be selected this fall and will begin working in January 2014. More information on the Fellowship and applications for the program may be accessed at: http://www.aps.org/policy/fellowships/stem.cfm

“We started this new program in recognition of the increased emphasis on STEM education at the Department of Education," said APS Executive Officer Kate Kirby. "The STEM Education Policy Fellowship offers scientists with expertise in and passion for STEM education an opportunity to come to Washington DC to help shape science education policy critical to our nation's future. I think that the Department of Education will benefit greatly from the presence and contributions of this Fellow."

“Improving STEM education is a bi-partisan national priority that is key to our nation’s economic and national security,” said H. Frederick Dylla, AIP Executive Director and CEO. "As the U.S. Department of Education ramps up its portfolio of STEM programs and initiatives, the STEM Education Policy Fellows will be there to provide relevant perspective and important guidance

The APS-AIP Fellows will work within the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development (OPEPD), which is responsible for coordinating and developing major policy initiatives and preparing the Department’s more than $71 billion annual budget request.

The office aims to craft policies that support President Obama’s goals of closing the achievement gap in science and mathematics and making the United States first in the world in college completion by 2020. While working at the OPEPD, the APS-AIP STEM Education Policy Fellows will conduct research analysis, help define policy priorities, attend congressional hearings and build partnerships with other agencies and private organizations.

Recruitment for the first STEM Education Policy Fellow will begin immediately. The fellow must belong to one of AIP’s Member Societies and hold a doctorate in a physical sciences discipline. Successful candidates will also demonstrate outstanding communication skills, familiarity with education policy, and a strong commitment to serve society. The term of the fellowship is not less than one year and not to exceed two years and carries a stipend of $70,000.

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About APS

The American Physical Society (www.aps.org) is a non-profit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals, scientific meetings, and education, outreach, advocacy and international activities. APS represents more than 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories and industry in the United States and throughout the world. Society offices are located in College Park, MD (Headquarters), Ridge, NY, and Washington, DC.

About AIP

The American Institute of Physics (www.aip.org) is an organization of 10 physical science societies, representing more than 135,000 scientists, engineers, and educators. Through its Physics Resources Center, AIP delivers valuable services and expertise in education and student programs, science communications, government relations, career services for science and engineering professionals, statistical research in physics employment and education, industrial outreach, and the history of physics and allied fields. AIP publishes Physics Today, the most influential and closely followed magazine of the physics community, and is also home to Society of Physics Students and the Niels Bohr Library and Archives. AIP owns AIP Publishing LLC, a scholarly publisher in the physical and related sciences. Partial support for the APS-AIP STEM Education Policy Fellowship is provided by the William F. and Edith R. Meggers Fund.