The Civic Scientist Program aims to increase the engagement of scientists and engineers with society to increase knowledge as well as interest in science. The program is based on the premise that a more informed and engaged public will lead to improved science policy in both the private and public sector. Neal F. Lane, senior fellow for science and technology policy and former director of the National Science Foundation and science advisor to President Clinton, describes the civic scientist as "someone who uses his or her knowledge, accomplishments and skills to help bridge the gap between science and society."

Experts

    The Civic Scientist Lecture Series features leading scientists and engineers who have had an impact on public policy. Past events in the series have been sponsored by the Baker Institute Science and Technology Program with generous support from Benjamin and Winifer Cheng. Additional support was provided by Rice University’s George R. Brown School of Engineering and Wiess School of Natural Sciences and grants from the Kavli Foundation and the National Science Foundation (Grant No. 2042854).

    Visit our event library to view a list of all events in the Civic Scientist Lecture Series.
     

    Past Speakers


    Bruce Alberts, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief, Science Magazine

    Norman Augustine, Retired CEO and Chairman of Lockheed Martin

    David Baltimore, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate and the Robert Andrews Millikan Professor, California Institute of Technology

    Robert Bazell, Nonresident Fellow in Science and Technology, Baker Institute; Adjunct Professor, Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, Yale University

    Vint Cerf, Ph.D., Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google

    Stephen Chu, Ph.D., William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics and Molecular & Cellular Physiology, Stanford University; Former U.S. Secretary of Energy; Nobel Laureate

    Rita R. Colwell, Ph.D., Chairman, Canon US Life Sciences, Inc.; Distinguished Professor, University of Maryland; Adjunct Professor, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health; Former Director, National Science Foundation

    France A. Córdova, Ph.D., Former Director, National Science Foundation

    Robert F. Curl Jr., Ph.D., University Professor Emeritus, Rice University; Nobel Laureate

    Kelvin K. Droegemeier, Ph.D., Former Science Advisor to President Donald Trump; Former Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy

    David Eagleman, Ph.D., Director, Laboratory for Perception and Action, Baylor College of Medicine

    Sylvia Earle, Ph.D., Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic

    Sylvester James Gates Jr., Ph.D., Member, National Academy of Sciences; University System Regents Professor and the John S. Toll Professor of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park

    John Hennessy, Former President of Stanford University; Former Chairman of the Board of Directors, Alphabet Inc.

    Peter J. Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., Fellow in Disease and Poverty, Baker Institute

    Alice Huang, Ph.D., Senior Faculty Associate in Biology, California Institute of Technology

    Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D., President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

    Anita Jones, Ph.D., Department Chair and Owen R. Cheatham Professor of Computer Science, Emerita, University of Virginia

    Sir Harry W. Kroto, Ph.D., Professor, Florida State University; Nobel Laureate

    Neal Lane, Ph.D., Senior Fellow in Science and Technology Policy, Baker Institute

    David Laude, Ph.D., Senior Vice Provost and Professor, The University of Texas at Austin

    Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Marcia McNutt, Ph.D., President, National Academy of Sciences

    John Mendelsohn, M.D., Former L.E. and Virginia Simmons Fellow in Health and Technology Policy, Baker Institute

    William H. Press, Ph.D., Raymer Professor, Department of Computer Science, The University of Texas at Austin

    Eric Schmidt, Chair of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence; Co-founder of Schmidt Futures; Former CEO, Google

    Subra Suresh, Sc.D., Former Director, National Science Foundation

    Jeannette M. Wing, Ph.D., Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Research; Consulting Professor of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University

     

    The “Developing Civic Scientist Leaders” (DCSL) program was created to provide Rice University science and engineering graduate students with an opportunity to learn about the intersection of scientific research and government policymaking processes, and to develop the communication and leadership skills necessary to effectively engage with state and federal legislators on policy challenges related to science, technology, innovation and higher education. The goal of the program is to build a network of civically engaged scientists, engineers and other technical professionals who use their knowledge of science to advance policy in the public interest as they progress in their respective careers at Rice, in Houston and across the country.
     

    Fact Sheets: Public Funding of Science and Technology Research and Development: 2020

    DCSL graduate students from Rice University’s schools of Natural Sciences and Engineering developed the following infographic fact sheets. They were virtually presented to federal and Texas state congressional representatives and their staff in the fall of 2020 to promote the need for public funding of science and technology research & development.  

    America’s Economy Needs Federally-Funded Basic Research

    Support U.S. Research and Development 

    Continued Success for Texas and the U.S. Depend on Funding for Basic Science Research

    Bolster Federal Investment in Basic Research to Drive Innovation and Progress in Texas

    Research Fuels Houston


    Blogs and Opinion Pieces

    The 2020 DCSL cohort produced a series of opinion pieces on a variety of topics related to science and technology policy. Read them at the Baker Institute Blog or the Science and Technology Policy Program’s Medium page.

    Blake Atkinson
    "Is My Neighborhood Polluted? The Case for Mobile Monitoring in Houston"

    Kathryn Brink
    "Biomanufacturing at Epi(demi)c Proportions"

    Robert Bullard
    "Supporting resourceful space exploration"

    Prakash Reddy Chintakunta
    "Restoring natural bodies of water: An emerging crisis"

    Janelle Clark
    "Preparing for the next employment revolution"

    Lauren Howe-Kerr
    "Facing our climate contradictions"

    Robert Laroche
    "The Ones the COVID-19 Relief (CARES) Bill Left Behind"
    "The Unspoken Threat of the Anthropocene"

    Jordin Metz
    "Destroying environmental protections during Covid-19 will cause more respiratory illness"
    "Environmental policy update: More deregulation by the Trump Administration"
    "Texas Should Adopt Stricter Standards on Persistent Chemical Pollutants"

    Nicole Mitchell
    "Sears: Once your ordinary department store, now a vehicle for tech sector gentrification"

    Adam Navara
    "How can we prevent the next ‘CRISPR babies’?"
     

    Acknowledgements

    Funding for the 2020 DCSL cohort was generously provided by Rice University’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders, with additional support from Benjamin and Winifer Cheng and Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering and Wiess School of Natural Sciences.

     

    Achievement in math and science among America’s school children is a point of serious concern for both education and business leaders. The Civic Scientist Program aims to address this problem by sending Rice University and other Houston-area scientists and engineers who have demonstrated leadership in science and in the public sphere to local middle and high schools. The goal of these visits is to present science to underrepresented students in a way that educates and invigorates them about scientific discovery and purpose. The scientists share information about what ignited their interest in science, the trials and tribulations that have led to their success, what inspires them on a daily basis and the importance of science in our society.

    Support for community outreach is generously provided by Winifer and Benjamin Cheng.

    In the seven years since we began the Civic Scientist Outreach Program, scientists and engineers from Rice University and the Houston community have presented to more than 8,500 students, with a total of 134 lectures given at 54 different schools.

    For the 2017-2018 school year, the program received overwhelmingly positive feedback from students, and 100% of the teachers surveyed enjoyed the presentation and would recommend the program to other teachers.

    For more information on the program or if you are interested in participating as a class or speaker, please email civicscientist@rice.edu or (713) 348-4784.
     

    Testimonials

    “Ever since we talked about gene editing at school I have been interested in what the future will look like and how we can help others through gene editing. When you came here I was so excited, because I learned more and maybe some day I will study that and cure cancer.”

    —Eighth-grader from KIPP Academy Middle School, 2018 (Civic Scientist: Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Ph.D.)

    “My students and I were genuinely fascinated by Dr. Solomon's presentation, and many of my seniors are now thinking of going in to biology research for college.”

    —Teacher from Heights High School, 2017 (Civic Scientist: Scott Solomon, Ph.D.)

    “[Materials science and metallurgy] was a subject that very few had prior knowledge about but everyone could relate to when they saw how many applications the technology had. Finally, just hearing about a 3-D metal printer and seeing examples of its uses was worth the visit. We would love to have Dr. Cordero back anytime.”

    —Teacher from Olle STEM Academy, 2016 (Civic Scientist: Zack Cordero, Ph.D.)

    “The students loved her talk. It was a great balance of advanced information presented in a very understandable way. They also really enjoyed the first part of her talk about her own background growing up as child of immigrants to the US.”

    —Teacher from YES Prep North Forest, 2015 (Civic Scientist: Junghae Suh, Ph.D.)

     

     

    Rita Colwell presents at DeBakey High School
    Rita Colwell presents at DeBakey High School.
    Jim Gates lectures to middle school students at Jane Long Academy.
    Jim Gates lectures to middle school students at Jane Long Academy.

    Pulickel Ajayan, Professor in Engineering, Materials Science, and Nanoengineering and Chemistry, Rice University

    David Alexander, Associate Professor of Astrophysics and Director of the Rice Space Institute, Rice University

    Ronda Alexander, Assistant Professor of Otorhinolaryngology, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston

    Oluwatoyin Asojo, Associate Professor of Pediatrics in Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine

    Matthew Baring, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, and Co-Chair, Graduate Admissions and Recruiting, Rice University

    Scott Basinger, Assistant Dean and Associate Professor of Opthalmology and Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine

    Arthur Bienenstock, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Photon Science and Special Assistant to the President for Federal Research Policy, Stanford University

    Janet Braam, Department Chair, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University

    Audrea Burns, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Immunology, Allergy, and Rheumatology, Baylor College of Medicine

    Dan Carson, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University

    Daniel Cohan, Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, Rice University

    Rita Colwell, Professor of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland; Adjunct Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Former Director of the National Science Foundation

    Micheal Cone, Instructor of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University

    Pamela Constantinou, Faculty Fellow, Biosciences; and Assistant Research Professor, Rice University

    Zack Cordero, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University

    Steven Cox, Professor of Computational and Applied Mathematics, Master, Brown College, Rice University

    Margaret French, Community Development Specialist and Science Communication Liaison for Bioscience Research Collaborative, Rice University

    Sylvester James Gates Jr., University System Regents Professor and the John S. Toll Professor of Physics, director of the String and Particle Theory Center, University of College Park, Maryland

    Gretchen Goldman, Ph.D., Assistant Director for Environmental Science, Engineering, Policy, and Justice, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

    Michael Gustin, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University

    Amanda Hackler, Head of Career Development and Outreach, National Space Biomedical Research Institute, and Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine Center for Space Medicine

    Matthias Heinkenschloss, Noah G. Harding Chair and Professor in the Department of Computational and Applied Mathematics, Rice University

    Alison Henning, Adjunct Associate Professor of Earth Science, Rice University

    Steve Hocick, Assistant Professor of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Bioloyg, The Ohio State University

    Alice Huang, former President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Senior Faculty Associate in Biology, California Institute of Technology

    Jeff Jacot, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, Rice University

    Anita Jones, Former Director of Defense and Engineering, U.S. Department of Defense

    Mackale Joyner, Lecturer in Computer Science, Rice University

    Stacey Kalovidouris, Executive Director of the Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Rice University

    Nathasha Kirienko, Assistant Professor of BioSciences, Rice University

    Neal F. Lane, Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University; Senior Fellow, Baker Institute, Rice University; Former Director of the National Science Foundation

    David Laude, Senior Vice Provost and Professor of Chemistry, the University of Texas, Austin

    Stephan Link, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University

    Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Fellow for Science and Technology Policy, Baker Institute, Rice University

    Richard Meisel, Assistant Professor of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston

    Antonios Mikos, Director of the Center for Excellence in Tissue Engineering, Director of the JW Cox Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University

    Dan Mittleman, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University

    Antonio Neri, CEO, Hewlett-Packard Enterprises

    Carolyn Nichol, Faculty Fellow in Chemistry, Rice University

    K.C. Nicolaou, Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor of Chemistry, Rice University

    Olufunmilayo Falusi Olopade, M.D., Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor and Director, Center for Global Health, The University of Chicago

    Jamie Padgett, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, Rice University

    Mesias Pedroza, Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry, Rice University

    William Press, Senior Fellow Emeritus, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Warren J. and Viola Mae Raymer Chain, Computer Science and Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin

    Amina Qutub, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, Rice University

    Beatrice Riviere, Noah G. Harding Chair, Professor, Department Chair in Computational and Applied Mathematics Department, Rice University

    Malcolm Ross, Geologist in Research and Development, Shell Oil Company; and Adjunct Professor of Earth Science, Rice University

    Maude Rowland, Nonresident Scholar for Science and Technology Policy, Baker Institute, Rice University

    Ron Sass, Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University

    Laura Schaefer, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Department Chair of Mechanical Engineering, Rice University

    Yousif Shamoo, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology and Faculty Director of the Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Rice University

    Shanna Simmons, Technical Advisor, Shell Oil Company

    Scott Solomon, Professor in Practice of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University

    Lauren Stadler, Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University

    Junghae Suh, Associate Professor of Bioengineering, Rice University

    Blake Sutherland, Graduate Student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University

    Yizhi Tao, Associate Professor, Biosciences, Rice University

    Ned Thomas, Dean of Brown School of Engineering, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science; Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering; and Chemistry, Rice University

    James Tour, Professor of Chemistry; Computer Science; Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science; Rice University

    Robert Vajtai, Senior Faculty Fellow, Materials Science and Nanoengineering, Rice University

    Daniel Wagner, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University

    Kelly Weinersmith, Huxley Fellow in the Department of BioSciences, Rice University

    Jennifer West, Chair and Professor of Bioengineering, Wiess College Faculty Associate, Rice University

    Jeannette M. Wing, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Research, Consulting Professor of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University