Logan D. A. Williams
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Letter about NSF SBE which I sent to my U.S. representative and senators

6/7/2011

5 Comments

 
Today a message came through on the SKAT listserv (Science, Knowledge and Technology subsection of the American Sociological Association) that was written by Laurel Smith-Doerr.  She encouraged us to write to our U.S. representatives and senators in support of the human sciences because the appropriations committee wants to cut the Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences directorate out of the National Science Foundation.

Below I have posted the letter that I wrote and forwarded to my U.S. representative and senators.
Dear Representative Paul Tonko/ Senator Kirsten Gillibrand/ Senator Charles E. Schumer,

I am alarmed to hear that the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice & Science is considering eliminating or severely cutting back the directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic (SBE) Sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF). In particular, the SBE funds a program called “Science, Technology & Society” from which many of my colleagues and I have received funds to perform research here at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY and throughout New York state. This interdisciplinary program funds work by historians, sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists and others who are looking at issues of science and technology in society.

Science and Technology Studies (STS) was recently described by the National Research Council as an emerging field. Those who apply for grants from the Science, Technology & Society program at NSF SBE are often housed in academic units with names such as “Science and Technology Studies” (i.e. Rensselaer, Cornell, and Virginia Tech), “History and Philosophy of Science”(i.e. Stanford, Notre Dame), or, “History, Technology and Society” (i.e. Georgia Tech). These interdisciplinary academic units are known for: (1) training graduate students in advanced STS theory from the past 30+ years of research; (2) training science and engineering undergraduate students in how to evaluate the often complex social and ethical implications of their work.

It is important to note that the research of my colleagues often directly informs their teaching of science and engineering undergraduates. One major example of this is a long-term NSF study (#9711830 and #9818207) for “An STS Focus on Design.” While the details of what was funded by this study are unknown to me (as it was before my entry into the STS graduate program here at Rensselaer) I am very familiar with the results which include a special issue in the MIT journal Design Issues in 2004 and many accolades by Businessweek (Oct 15 2007) and others for the Design Innovation and Society undergraduate major at Rensselaer. The Design Innovation and Society major requires that students complete many Product Design and Innovation studio courses that are co-taught by faculty in STS, Architecture, Management, and Mechanical Engineering. Undergraduate students that have majored in Design Innovation and Society have gone on to found local businesses in New York State such as Ecovative Design LLC. Ecovative Design was founded in 2007 and creates sustainable packaging and other products from mushrooms. Ecovative Design went from winning Oxford University's 21st Century Challenge (among other prestigious domestic and international competitions for startups) to more recently attracting investment from 3M, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the DOEN Foundation in order to scale up its manufacturing in Green Island, NY.

The research of my colleagues has also directly informed U.S. science and technology policy-making. Professor Roger Pielke Jr in the environmental studies department at University of Colorado at Boulder has offered testimony on issues of climate change to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (March 2002, May 2002), the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform (July 2006, January 2007), and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology (May 2007). Professor Langdon Winner in STS at Rensselaer has testified about the social and ethical implications of nanotechnology before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science (April 2003). Professor Edward J. Woodhouse in STS at Renssealer has testified about green chemistry before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science (March 2004). Dr. Shobita Parthasarathy (a graduate of STS at Cornell) offered a declaration (August 24, 2009) that was heavily quoted by district court Judge Sweet in the decision about Myriad Genetics in New York state.

Other examples of research funded by the NSF directorate SBE here at Rensselaer that have the potential to directly inform U.S. science and technology policy include: (1) the doctoral dissertation improvement grant given to my colleague Dr. Aalok Khandekar for his work on 'technomigration' of Indians in information technology and engineering and the federal laws that regulate 'brain circulation' between India, New York state and California, (NSF #0848540); (2) the doctoral dissertation improvement grant given to my colleague Dr. Nathan Fisk for his work in New York state on cyberbullying in elementary schools, (NSF #0957028); (3) the doctoral dissertation improvement grant given to my colleague Ph.D. Candidate Anna Lamprou for her work in the U.S. (on TSCA) and the E.U. (on REACH) in order to understand how nanotechnology and other toxic chemicals are regulated considering the complexity of their interactions with the environment and the human body (NSF #1027074); (4) the summer research assistantships completed by myself and 7 colleagues in 2010, which resulted in the 300+ page white paper “Building Clean-Energy Industries and Green Jobs” that looked at supply-side policies for creating jobs and clean energy industry across many cities and states in the U.S. including New York state, (NSF #0947429).

In trying to show the importance of the SBE directorate to the mission of NSF “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense”, I have focused on the research that I am familiar with out of the SBE Science, Technology & Society program. However, I am sure that there are many other examples of SBE funded research that directly impacts public policy for the U.S. or indirectly impacts U.S. national health, prosperity, and welfare.

The human sciences help us to understand where we have been and how we can best move forward. I argue that while budget cuts may be necessary, cutting the funding for programs in the human sciences is not the best solution.

Sincerely,

Logan Dawn April Williams
Ph.D. Candidate, Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
M.S. Mechanical Engineering from University of Colorado at Boulder
B.S. Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University
5 Comments
Logan D. A. Williams link
9/7/2011 08:58:01 am

A forward of Laurel Smith-Doerr's message came through on the STSGrad Google group where a scholar at Columbia attached a link to this opinion piece in Friday's New York Times called "The Unexamined Society", http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/opinion/08brooks.html

Reply
Logan D. A. Williams
29/7/2011 09:49:24 pm

This is Representative Tonko's response which I received by email on Friday 29 Jul 2011:

Dear Ms. Williams,

Thank you for contacting me regarding funding social, behavioral, and economic sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF). I appreciate hearing from you on this important matter.

As you know, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology recently held a hearing to examine the value of the National Science Foundation's social, behavioral, and economic sciences programs. I share your support for social, behavioral, and economic sciences and believe their work certainly merits government funding. Unfortunately, many of my Republican colleagues in the House do not agree, and have proposed drastic cuts to this and similar programs. The Republican budget, H.Con.Res34 ignores the important work of agencies like the National Science Foundation, making cuts that will severely limit the ability of our scientists and researchers to make new discoveries. For these reasons, I voted against the Republican budget when it came to a vote before the House of Representatives on April 15, 2011. As a member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, I want to assure you that I will keep your views in mind going forward.

Again, thank you for your correspondence. I am most appreciative. As your representative in Congress, I will continue to prioritize policies that create jobs, grow our economy, and protect the middle class while responsibly reducing the federal deficit. Should you have additional comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. My door is always open.

For up-to-date news and information about our district, please visit my website at http://tonko.house.gov and sign up for my E-Newsletter. Additionally, please consider using my social media tools: http://www.facebook.com/reppaultonko, http://twitter.com/paultonko, and http://www.youtube.com/reppaultonko.
Sincerely,
Paul D. Tonko
MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Reply
Logan D. A. Williams link
2/8/2011 08:20:40 pm

This is Senator Gillibrand's response which I received by email on August 2, 2011. It seems like a form letter, as she doesn't actually respond to anything in my letter. Maybe she's not on any committees that have dealt with this topic (unlike Tonko; see previous comment)?







Dear Logan Dawn April,



Thank you for contacting me regarding creating jobs. Your thoughts and concerns are very important and I appreciate you taking the time to share them with me. Please know that as I participate in discussions on the issues before the United States Senate, the thoughts and the opinions of all my New York constituents are given careful consideration.



Thank you again for taking the time to contact me. Please visit http://gillibrand.senate.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter for updates on this, and other important issues being considered by the Senate.





Sincerely yours,

Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator

Reply
Logan Williams link
3/4/2012 01:25:56 am

An article from the Chronicle of Higher Education discusses what universities do when they can no longer rely upon congerssional earmarks. One thing is to ask their congressmen and congresswomen for:
A lettermark -- where the congressional member writes a letter to a specific agency program, introducing the university and what they need funding for
Help to polish proposals - some congressional offices help universities to do this
As a subpoint of this article, the author, Kelly Field, reminds the reader that, "Relationships with members of Congress remain important, too, even in the absence of earmarks. After all, it is Congress that appropriates money to the agencies that award the grants. With money tight, lawmakers need to be reminded that particular programs benefit institutions in their districts, lobbyists say."

http://chronicle.com.libproxy.rpi.edu/article/With-Earmarks-Banned-Colleges/131385/

Reply
Logan Williams link
16/4/2012 04:23:24 pm

This is Senator Schumer's response which I received by email on Monday April 16, 2012.

Dear Ms. Williams:

Thank you for contacting me in support of science funding. Like you, I believe there should be a continued investment in the future of our scientific breakthroughs accomplished through the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy’s (DoE) Office of Science. The NSF and DOE are vital in contributing to our nation’s greatest achievements and hopes for treating and curing debilitating diseases.

I have been a strong supporter of increasing our investment in research throughout my career. I signed a letter to my colleagues on the Senate Appropriations Committee urging them to maintain a strong commitment to funding the NSF and DOE in Fiscal Year 2013 and have signed similar letters year after year to make sure the importance of this institution is known.

I believe we must make increased DOE and NSF funding a national priority as we did a decade ago and I will work closely with my colleagues to ensure that adequate resources be provided for biomedical students and researchers throughout New York State and the nation to enhance our development of cures and improve treatments for the devastating and fatal diseases that are afflicting citizens of our country.

Again, thank you for contacting me about this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me again if I can ever be of assistance to you on this or any other matter.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator

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    Logan primarily uses this blog to: reflect on policy and professionalization issues in STS (e.g. research funding, discipline formation, skill building, job-hunting, policy applications of STS theory) and to disseminate her own scholarship.


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