State department fellowship

The American Institute of Physics and the Department of State are creating a new science fellowship allowing a physical scientist or engineer to spend a year working on the science and technology aspects of foreign policy issues. The selected fellow will provide scientific expertise to the department while “learning firsthand how scientific and technical knowledge can contribute to the nation’s foreign policy,” the announcment said. Norman Neureiter, science and technology adviser to the secretary of state, said the department’s regional bureaus, which cover specific geographical areas, are weak on science, and that’s where he hopes to assign the AIP fellow. The range of problems faced by the bureaus includes everything from mad cow disease in Europe to cybersecurity in Asia, he said. The idea for the fellowship originated with the AIP governing board more than a year ago, when concerns were expressed about the lack of scientific expertise within the State Department, said James Stith, director of AIP’s Physics Resources Center. Fellowship applicants must be US citizens, have a PhD or equivalent research experience in physics or a related field, and belong to one of AIP’s member societies. The fellowship has an annual stipend of $49‥000. Applications are due 15 April. More information can be found at http://www.aip.org/mgr/sdf.html .