Chemical Education Today edited by Kerry K. Karukstis Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA 91711
Association Report: CUR
The Scientist’s Civic Responsibilities: Sharing Research and Scholarship on Capitol Hill by Kerry K. Karukstis
CUR’s Posters on the Hill Event Recently the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) held its annual undergraduate research poster session on Capitol Hill to communicate to federal policymakers the importance of supporting undergraduate research. This Posters on the Hill event featured 86 undergraduate students from 32 states and 51 institutions across the country. Student presenters were selected in a competitive process to partner with CUR as enthusiastic advocates for undergraduate research and scholarship. CUR views this event as a strategic means of helping to set the research agenda of our nation. Given the many competing and worthy choices for discretionary spending, researchers must be civicminded scholars who are willing to communicate the larger impacts of their work. This year’s Posters on the Hill event, an annual tradition since 1997, effectively demonstrated the impact of undergraduate research and scholarship through the words and stories of the student participants themselves. The Civic Responsibility of Scientists
photo by ACS
The day-long event began with welcoming remarks from Representative Vernon J. Ehlers (R-MI) and John Marburger, Science Advisor to the President and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. As a member of the House Committee on Science and Technology and a co-founder of the bipartisan STEM Education Caucus for Members of Congress, Ehlers is a true friend of the undergraduate research community.
Figure 1. CUR on Capitol Hill, from left: CUR President Kerry Karukstis; ACS President Bruce Bursten; Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN); Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman; National Institute of Standards and Technology Acting Director James Turner. Representative Bart Gordon (D-TN), also honored at the event, was unable to be present at the time of the photo due to a vote in the House of Representatives.
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He emphasized to the student participants, particularly those in STEM fields, the importance of their civic responsibility to communicate the significance of their work as well as the reasons why undergraduate research should be funded. In a world challenged by intense competition for increasingly limited resources, he noted that scholars and research scientists are the best advocates for the importance of federal investment in undergraduate research to educate the next generation of innovators and to enhance the Nation’s economic prosperity. Marburger presented an intriguing perspective on the “science” of science policy, particularly in terms of ascertaining the effectiveness of federal investments in science and basic research. He noted that research policy decisions are challenging given the difficulties of setting priorities in light of tight research budgets, the inability to precisely predict the potential of certain research paths, and the immense obstacles of reversing past policy decisions when the anticipated results are not achieved. Throughout the day student presenters visited their congressional representatives to actively participate in the science policy process. The CUR–ACS Partnership To more prominently showcase undergraduate research and the student presenters, CUR coordinated the evening reception and poster session with the American Chemical Society’s annual Public Service Awards ceremony. The ACS Award for Public Service recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to the development of public policy that benefits chemistry and the sciences. This year’s award recipients were Representative Bart Gordon (D-TN), chair of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology; Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), co-chair of the Senate Science and Technology Caucus; and Samuel Bodman, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. Gordon is a leader in fostering U.S. innovation and economic competitiveness and has focused the energies of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology on passage of the America COMPETES Act (1) and the subsequent follow-up to assure full funding of the law. Alexander played a central role in dialogue with the National Academies that led to the pivotal Rising Above the Gathering Storm report (2) in 2005 that addressed the steps needed to ensure the pre-eminence of America’s science and technology enterprises. Bodman has been influential in leading the Department of Energy to increase its focus and resources on research and development. Both ACS President Bruce Bursten and CUR President Kerry Karukstis congratulated the awardees and thanked them for their support of research and education and, in particular, federal support for the undergraduate research enterprise. With several hundred guests in attendance at the poster session and reception, this year’s Posters on the Hill event was an extremely successful occasion to promote the value of undergraduate research.
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 85 No. 9 September 2008 • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • © Division of Chemical Education
Chemical Education Today
Undergraduates interested in helping CUR communicate the importance of undergraduate research to members of Congress are encouraged to apply to participate in the 2009 Posters on the Hill event. More information on the abstract submission process can be found on the CUR Web page (3). Literature Cited 1. H.R.2272, America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act. http://science.house.gov/legislation/ leg_highlights_detail.aspx?NewsID=1938 (accessed Jun 2008). 2. Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy. Rising Above the Gather-
photo courtesy David Brown
Participating in the 2009 Posters on the Hill Event
ing Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future; National Academies Press: Washington, DC, 2007; see http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309100399 (accessed Jun 2008). 3. Council on Undergraduate Research Posters on the Hill, http://www.cur.org/ postersession.html (accessed Jun 2008).
Supporting JCE Online Material
http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2008/ Sep/abs1170.html Abstract and keywords Full text (PDF) with links to cited URLs
Kerry K. Karukstis, President of CUR, is a member of the Department of Chemistry, Harvey Mudd College, 301 Platt Boulevard, Claremont, CA 91711;
[email protected].
Figure 2. Students from Southwestern College at CUR’s Posters on the Hill (front row, from left) Monique Patron, Chona dela Cruz, Héctor Eduardo Mendoza Solano, and Manuel Alingog pose with their faculty research mentor, David Brown. The President of Southwestern College, Raj Chopra, and the Dean of the School of Mathematics, Science and Engineering, Kathy Tyner, not photographed, were also in attendance.
© Division of Chemical Education • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • Vol. 85 No. 9 September 2008 • Journal of Chemical Education
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