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AGU Media ContactsAGU Congressional Science Fellows at work on Capitol Hill
December 2009
Congressional Science Fellows Maeve Boland (left) and Maggie Walser (right) working in the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Room in Washington, DC.
Maeve Boland has taken one year away from her duties as a research assistant professor at the Colorado School of Mines to serve as the 2009-2010 AGU Congressional Science Fellow in Washington DC, working in the office of Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND). Boland says that she sees the Fellowship as a device for “developing dialogue, cooperation, and understanding between geoscientists and the broader world of policy making”. Boland received her B.A. and M.S. in geology from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, before working for the Geological Survey of Ireland, as well as in the mineral exploration and petroleum sectors. Boland moved to the U.S. in 1993, and completed her Ph.D. from Colorado School of Mines in 2005.
In November 2009, Maggie Walser finished her 15-month term as the 2008–2009 Congressional Science Fellow, working in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. During her Fellowship, it was Walser's goal to craft policy solutions that were “both scientifically sound and politically feasible”. Before her Fellowship, Walser completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Council for Science and the Environment in Washington, DC. Walser completed her Ph.D. on the composition and photochemistry of aerosols in 2007 at the University of California, Irvine, and hopes to work in environmental policy following her Fellowship.
If you are interested in serving at the intersection between science and public policy, the AGU Congressional Science Fellowship is a fantastic opportunity. Fellows serve as staff in a congressional office or committee and work on legislation and congressional hearings, meet with lobbyists and constituents, and have many other duties. Application for the 2010–2011 Fellowship is open until 1 February 2010. Please see information on the application, stipend, and benefits.