Physics Frontline

APS Congressional Fellow Elaine Ulrich recently scored a significant legislative accomplishment. During the past year, she worked in Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ (D-8th AZ) office on a range of issues, including those related to renewable energy. She recently moved on to work in the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) with another APS Fellow, Dr. Sam Baldwin. Elaine recently drafted legislation titled the “Solar Technology Roadmap Act” (H.R. 3585), a bill that establishes a comprehensive plan for solar technology research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities conducted by the federal government in partnership with the private sector and focused on the Department of Energy (DOE). Last week, after undergoing a markup in the House Committee on Science and Technology, the bill passed the full House of Representatives by a vote of 310-106. Given the difficulty in drafting, much less getting adequate support for any legislative initiative, Elaine should be commended for the role she played in drafting and helping secure passage of the bill. The APS Congressional Fellowship program is a terrific opportunity for physicists who might otherwise not have exposure to the political and policy communities to work among practitioners and legislators on issues of interest to them and/or the scientific community. Let’s hear it for our APS Fellow! Who says scientists can’t dabble in politics?