image:Pierre-Andre Jacinthe of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Selected as AAAS S&T Policy Fellow view more

Credit: IUPUI School of Science

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is pleased to announce the 50th class of the Science & Technology Policy Fellowships (STPF), who will help inform actionable, science-based policies throughout the U.S. government. Among the 300 highly trained scientists and engineers selected, Dr. Pierre-Andre Jacinthe, a professor of soil biogeochemistry in the Department of Earth Sciences at IUPUI, will spend a year serving at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the Bureau for Resilience and Food Security (BFS). The Bureau leads the implementation of Feed the Future, the U.S. Governments program to sustainably reduce global hunger, malnutrition and poverty through agriculture-led economic growth.

Climate change poses a real challenge to food production systems, and more so in the resource-poor regions of the world, Jacinthe said. Feed the Future has a special focus on these vulnerable communities and strives for the emergence of sustainable production systems that are resilient to climate-related stresses. I am both excited and honored to have the opportunity to contribute to the BFS mission.

Fellows like Dr. Jacinthe will learn first-hand about federal policymaking and implementation, while the U.S. government benefits from the contributions of highly trained scientists and engineers.

AAAS policy fellows have been demonstrating excellence in science policy for the past half-century defining what it means to be a scientist and engineer in the policymaking realm, said Rashada Alexander, Ph.D., STPF director and alumna fellow. In our 50th year of partnership with the U.S. government and many esteemed scientific societies and supporters, we are excited to usher in the newest class and follow their important contributions to policy, science and society.

The STPF program supports evidence-based policymaking by leveraging the knowledge and analytical mindset of science and engineering experts, and trains leaders for a strong U.S. science and technology enterprise. Fellows represent a full spectrum disciplines, backgrounds and career stages.

We are incredibly proud of Dr. Jacinthe and his remarkable accomplishment of being selected as an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, said John DiTusa, dean of the IUPUI School of Science. This is a wonderful recognition of the quality of his previous work in the field of biogeochemistry of soils as a faculty member of the School of Science. I know Dr. Jacinthes important work with the BFS on the impact of climate change on soil biochemistry and on food production will lead to crucial scientific contributions for policy development worldwide and inform future exploration.

The 2022-23 fellowship class is sponsored by AAAS, the Moore Foundation and partner societies. Of the 300 fellows chosen, 31 will serve in Congress, one will serve at the Federal Judicial Center, and 268 will serve in the executive branch among 19 federal agencies or departments.

After the fellowship, many remain in the policy arena working at the federal, state, regional or international level, while others pursue careers in academia, industry or the nonprofit sector.

Founded in 1973, the STPF program will turn 50 in 2023. AAAS will celebrate this milestone as STPF establishes a formal alumni network about 4,000 strong to stimulate and support collaboration among alumni fellows to further the STPF mission to connect evidence-based decision-making with public policy.

Visit http://www.aaas.org/stpf to learn more about the AAAS S&T Policy Fellowships.

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Pierre-Andre Jacinthe of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) selected as AAAS S&T Policy Fellow - EurekAlert