Introducing the PopTech Science and Public Leadership Fellows

“Whether it’s the science to slow global warming; the technology to protect our troops and confront bioterror and weapons of mass destruction; the research to find life-saving cures; or the innovations to remake our industries and create twenty-first century jobs—today, more than ever before, science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and prosperity as a nation.” – President Barack Obama

At a time when our nation and our planet face unprecedented challenges, the sciences have a more important role to play in society than ever before. Yet today surprisingly few working scientists and researchers become visible, actively engaged public leaders.

This lack of visible scientific leaders has real consequences. Without them, science’s influence is diminished in public debate. Well-funded special interests can create the appearance of facts where they do not exist, and controversy where there is little or no actual debate. The truth can become politicized, and public action on vital issues stalled. And scientists themselves can miss out on opportunities to form new kinds of interdisciplinary collaborations and relationships that can enrich their work and ideas.


  • 85% of scientists identify the public’s lack of scientific knowledge as a major problem for science itself.

    - Pew Center for The People and The Press (7.9.09)
  • The reasons for the science leadership gap are complex: few scientists receive formal communications, public engagement and leadership training; an ‘anti-popularizer’ bias in many academic departments discourages scientists from engaging the public; and most working scientists lack a network of relationships with the media and peers who can help them overcome obstacles, and who can support them in becoming public advocates for their fields.











A signature component of our commitment to the sciences, the PopTech Science and Public Leadership Fellows Program aims to address these issues by developing a corps of highly visible and socially engaged scientific leaders who embody science as an essential way of thinking, discovering, understanding and deciding.

Candidates

Starting in 2010, and each year thereafter, PopTech will select up to 20 high-potential, early- and mid-career scientists working in areas of critical importance to the nation and the planet, such as: energy, food, water, public health, climate change, conservation ecology, green chemistry, computing, education, oceans, and national security. Our ideal candidates are scientists who have strong innate communications skills and an interest in public leadership but little formal training.

The Program

Fellows will be given yearlong training and skills development in communications, media training, public engagement and leadership, starting with an initial, week-long, custom-designed program in summer 2010 led by a world-class faculty of experts. The program will be hosted at the Banbury Center of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a renowned research and education institution at the forefront of work in molecular biology and genetics.

Fellows will develop relationships with leaders in communications, media and public engagement who will provide ongoing guidance and mentoring. Fellows will also be provided significant opportunities to raise their public profile and that of their work through many media, and to participate in a peer-level alumni network.

Fellows will participate in the entire program for free, and receive a free ticket to the PopTech conference, along with prominent placement at the event, including interviews and collaborative sessions with leading journalists and members of the network dedicated to helping them raise their profile. The goal of the program is not to turn scientists ‘into’ evangelists, but to help them become better communicators and leaders while continuing their scientific career.

Nominations

The nominating process opened in October 2009, and up to twenty Fellows will be chosen to participate in the program.

We are excited that the PopTech Science and Public Leadership Fellows program has received the support of our founding partner, Microsoft Research, and the support and endorsement of the National Science Foundation. We continue to develop a world-class advisory board – including a mix of top-tier science and communications leaders and working scientists – will assist with the selection of Fellows and participate in the program’s leadership training program.

Impact

We intend to develop a corps of visible and trusted scientific leaders who can engage with the public about issues of critical importance to the nation and the planet, and who can encourage scientific thinking about new issues as they arise. In so doing, we hope to bolster the role of science in the public sphere; to improve the public’s literacy and embrace of science; to create new scientific role models for young people; and to create new, multidisciplinary collaboration opportunities for working scientists.

To learn more about program curriculum or how to become a collaborating institution, please contact Leetha Filderman at leetha [at] poptech [dot] org.