A free panel discussion on Wednesday, Sept. 28, hosted by CIRES’ Center for Science and Technology Policy Research (CSTPR), will explore the Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) workshop.
The workshop, held over three days in the spring in Washington, D.C., connects young scientists with policy-makers for exposure to science advocacy as an integral component of influencing policy.
CSTPR offers an essay competition to well-qualified graduating seniors and graduate students, selecting two winners to attend CASE, all expenses paid.
The panel event, from noon to 1 p.m at CSTPR, 1333 Grandview Ave., will be moderated by CU Boulder’s Abby Benson, a CASE workshop founder. It will feature three previous winners.
Sarah Joy Welsh-Huggins, a 2016 winner who will be on the panel, says the CASE workshop demonstrated to her how valuable her civil engineering background will be when advocating for policies involving advances in specific areas of engineering research and practice.
“It was so exciting to be in our nation’s Capitol and imagine working there myself, striving to make my mark on the decision-making processes that shape and improve our society,” said Welsh-Huggins, a doctoral student in the civil systems engineering.
Angela Boag, another 2016 winner who will be on the panel, and a doctoral student in environmental studies, underscored a challenge sometimes faced at the intersection of science and policy-making: Programs that fund certain types of research may be cut or boosted for reasons unrelated to the program itself.
"It’s critical for scientists to share the importance of their work with politicians and the public," she said.
The CASE workshop, organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), was developed by a number of academic institutions, CU Boulder among them.
Attendees learn about the structure of Congress and how the federal budget and appropriations processes proceed. They also learn about communicating science and how to stay engaged in local and national politics. Students also get an opportunity to apply what they learn about influencing policy directly: On the last day of the workshop, participants form teams and speak with their elected members of Congress and congressional staff members about a topic of their choice.
The competition deadline will be in the early spring 2017 semester.
- Who: For graduating seniors and graduate students
- What: Panel discussion about the Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) workshop
- When: Wednesday, Sept. 28, Noon-1 p.m.
- Where: CIRES’ Center for Science and Technology Policy Research (CSTPR), 1333 Grandview Ave., Boulder
- Notes: The panel discussion is geared toward science majors interested in attending or learning about the CASE workshop held in Washington, D.C., which teaches students how to communicate effectively with policy makers. The discussion will include information on a CU Boulder competition that annually awards two students an all-expense paid trip to attend the three-day workshop.
2016 AAAS “CASE” workshop competition winners Angela Boag and Sarah Welsh-Huggins speaking with U.S. Senator Cory Gardner. “It was so exciting to be in our nation’s capital this spring and imagine working there myself, striving to make my mark on the decision-making processes that shape and improve our society,” Welsh-Huggins said. Credit: Heather Bene
