Hi all!

I hope the New Year finds you well and off to a good start. Certainly, there’s a tremendous amount of enthusiasm on Capitol Hill with the swearing in of the 111th Congress earlier this morning. To be sure the challenges facing the country are sobering, but there is a “can do” spirit in the air that is invigorating.

From the perspective of my fellowship position it is doubly exciting given the election of Senator Rockefeller to the position of Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation by his Senate colleagues. Science and technology are sure to play important roles in meeting the Nation’s challenges and I have come to know that the Senator has a keen appreciation of the value of the STEM research and education enterprise in that work.

As I wrote in my last post I hope to share some of my experiences “on the Hill,” as well as musings about science, science education, NSDL, educational technologies, etc. These days of course every other word uttered is “stimulus” and for good reason (IMHO)! But it is “stimulus” framed within the context of key policy issues involving energy, health care, the environment, and economic competitiveness - all of which are interconnected. Will science and science education play a role? You bet! And that’s where I hope in particular to be able to contribute! Stay tuned!

Cheers!

Lee
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As always, these views are my own and do not represent NSF policy.